PlainPatent

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 grant trajectory.

1,799
US patents granted
#2/4
in A24
17.8%
A24 class share
+83%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Manufacture Or Preparation Of Tobacco For Smoking Or Chewing ranks #381 of 670 CPC technology areas - 1,799 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 83% over five years.

#381
of 670 CPC technology areas
1,799
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Altria Client Services
leading assignee (294)
+83%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How A24B's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, A24B recorded 1,016 grants versus 556 in 2015–2019 (+83% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2024 at 273 grants and bottomed in 2016 at 79 (+246% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Altria Client Services LLC holds 16.3% of the class ; the top three share 39.0%.

Leaderboard read

A24B concentration, lead at 16.3%

Altria Client Services LLC leads this historical grant record at 16.3% of A24B - us corporation assignees hold 52% of class grants (831 of 1,607). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
16.3%

294 of 1,799 grants

Top three share
39.0%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
39

more grants than Philip Morris Products S.A.

Where A24B sits inside A24

Among 4 subclasses in A24 (TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; Simulated Smoking DEVICES; Smokers' Requisites), A24B ranks #2 and holds 17.8% of the parent class's 10,133 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

A24F 5,971 A24D 1,661 A24C 702

Rising assignees active in A24B

Company-wide grant multiples (2022–2024 vs 2019–2021) among assignees with ≥5 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide; class patent counts are subclass-specific.

  1. #1 Shaheen Innovations Holding Limted 19x 2 → 38 company-wide · 29 in A24B
  2. #2 Nicoventures Trading Limited 9.67x 33 → 319 company-wide · 100 in A24B
  3. #3 KT&G Corporation 8.79x 29 → 255 company-wide · 69 in A24B
  4. #4 China Tobacco Hunan Industrial Co., Ltd. 4.33x 9 → 39 company-wide · 6 in A24B
  5. #5 Scientific Holdings, LLC 2.75x 4 → 11 company-wide · 6 in A24B

A24B grants by year, peak 2024 (273)

US utility-patent grants per year in A24B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 83% versus 2015–2019.

50100150200250300 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 202

Who leads A24B?

The 12 most active assignees in Manufacture OR Preparation OF Tobacco FOR Smoking OR CHEWING; TOBACCO; Snuff - wider bars mean more grants

patents

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.

Source USPTO PatentsView, granted utility patents As of 2015–2025 grant years
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

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). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 101214161820 0100200300400 Patents in A24B Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Altria Client ServicesPhilip Morris ProductsR J Reynolds TobaccoPhilip Morris UsaNicoventures TradingJapan TobaccoKt&GRai Strategic HoldingsBritish American…22nd CenturyShaheen Innovations…U S Smokeless TobaccoJuul LabsFontem Holdings 1 B V
Top 14 A24B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A24B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near A24B's 1,799-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for A24B (#381 of 670 by volume ; lead share 16.3%) - not the A24 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

B60D 1,802 A43C 1,793 B21J 1,805 G01W 1,805

Nearest by lead-assignee share

E21B 16.3% F25C 16.4% E03D 16.2% D05B 16.6%

Questions about A24B

Which company holds the most patents in A24B?
Altria Client Services LLC leads A24B with 294 patents (16.3% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 52% of class grants.
Which A24B assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in A24B, Shaheen Innovations Holding Limted shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (19x: 2 grants in 2019–2021 → 38 in 2022–2024) while holding 29 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does A24B compare inside parent class A24?
Inside A24 (TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; Simulated Smoking DEVICES; Smokers' Requisites), A24B ranks #2 of 4 subclasses by grant volume and holds 17.8% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is A24F (5,971 grants).

What to do with this data

A24B in context - here's where to go next.

  • Altria Client Services LLC leads A24B with 294 grants in this class. See full portfolio
  • A24B ranks #381 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
  • Inside parent class A24, the largest sibling subclass is A24F with 5,971 grants. Explore A24F

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through 2026-05-15; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

Methodology - A24B figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (1,799 grants in the tracked window).

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.