CPC technology class · A24

A24B - Manufacture OR Preparation OF Tobacco FOR Smoking OR Chewing

Manufacture or preparation of tobacco for smoking or chewing; tobacco; snuff. 1,799 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

Compiled byPlainPatent Editorial, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

1,799
US patents granted: A24
Parent CPC class: 20
Active assignees: +119%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Manufacture OR Preparation OF Tobacco FOR Smoking OR Chewing ranks #381 of 670 CPC technology areas - 1,799 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 119% over five years.

#381
of 670 CPC technology areas: 1,799
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Altria Client Services
leading assignee (294): +119%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Top assignee: Altria Client Services Llc (294 patents)

CPC subclass A24B - MANUFACTURE OR PREPARATION OF TOBACCO FOR SMOKING OR CHEWING; TOBACCO; SNUFF - covers 1,799 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class A24 (TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in A24B is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Altria Client Services Llc leads with 294 patents, followed by Philip Morris Products S.a. at 255 grants and R.j. Reynolds Tobacco Company at 153.

Filing activity in A24B is up 119% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a sharp acceleration suggesting an emerging or fast-moving technology area. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is A24B innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in A24B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 119% versus 2015–2019.

Altria Client Services

294
Philip Morris Products

255
R J Reynolds Tobacco

153
Philip Morris Usa

125
Nicoventures Trading

100
Japan Tobacco

87
Kt&G

69
Rai Strategic Holdings

58
British American Toba…

54
22nd Century

49
Shaheen Innovations H…

29
U S Smokeless Tobacco

26

What this shows Altria Client Services is the most active filer in A24B, holding 294 of the 1,799 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

View data table

Top patent holders in CPC subclass A24B
Rank	Company	Patents in A24B
#1	Altria Client Services Llc	294
#2	Philip Morris Products S.a.	255
#3	R.j. Reynolds Tobacco Company	153
#4	Philip Morris USA Inc.	125
#5	Nicoventures Trading Limited	100
#6	Japan Tobacco Inc.	87
#7	KT&G Corporation	69
#8	RAI Strategic Holdings, Inc.	58
#9	British American Tobacco (investments) Limited	54
#10	22ND Century Limited, Llc	49
#11	Shaheen Innovations Holding Limted	29
#12	U.s. Smokeless Tobacco Company Llc	26
#13	JUUL Labs, Inc.	23
#14	Fontem Holdings 1 B.v.	23
#15	North Carolina State University	22
#16	JT International Sa	20
#17	Purecircle Sdn Bhd	16
#18	Swedish Match North Europe AB	15
#19	Beyond Twenty Ltd.	13
#20	China Tobacco Yunnan Industrial Co., Ltd.	9

About This Class

CPC subclass A24B belongs to class A24.

1,799 patents were granted in this class between 2015 and 2025.

20 companies actively patent in this space.

Classification System

Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is a hierarchical patent classification system used by the USPTO and EPO.

← All Technology Classes Technology Rankings →

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading A24B assignee, placed by how many patents it holds in this class (horizontal) against its company-wide average claims per patent (vertical) - a read on whether the class is led by broad-but-shallow filers or focused deep-claim players.

Top 14 A24B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A24B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class A24B?

CPC subclass A24B covers MANUFACTURE OR PREPARATION OF TOBACCO FOR SMOKING OR CHEWING; TOBACCO; SNUFF. It belongs to CPC class A24 (TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES), with 1,799 US utility patents granted since 2015.

How many patents have been filed in A24B?

1,799 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass A24B between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.

Which company holds the most patents in A24B?

Altria Client Services Llc leads A24B with 294 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.

How is patent data for A24B collected?

Patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It covers all US granted utility patents and assigns CPC codes based on the technology described in each patent.

What is the difference between CPC class and subclass?

A CPC class (e.g., A24) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like A24B provide finer granularity within that category. PlainPatent organizes data at the subclass level (4-character codes) for the most useful view of technology domains.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent Editorial

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.