PlainPatent

CPC technology class · A24

A24C - Machines For Making Cigars Or Cigarettes

Machines for making cigars or cigarettes. 702 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

702
US patents granted
#4/4
in A24
6.9%
A24 class share
+73%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Machines For Making Cigars Or Cigarettes ranks #501 of 670 CPC technology areas - 702 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 73% over five years.

#501
of 670 CPC technology areas
702
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Philip Morris Products
leading assignee (145)
+73%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How tightly A24C concentrates

Philip Morris Products S.A. holds 20.7% of A24C's recorded grants (145 of 702) - 88 more than Altria Client Services LLC. Across complete PatentsView years, the class peaked in 2024 at 110 grants and bottomed in 2017 at 33 (+233% peak-over-trough). Equal-window velocity 2020–2024 vs 2015–2019: +73% (390 vs 226 grants).

Leaderboard read

A24C concentration, lead at 20.7%

Philip Morris Products S.A. leads this historical grant record at 20.7% of A24C - foreign corporation assignees hold 69% of class grants (407 of 594). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
20.7%

145 of 702 grants

Top three share
35.0%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
88

more grants than Altria Client Services LLC

Where A24C sits inside A24

Among 4 subclasses in A24 (TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; Simulated Smoking DEVICES; Smokers' Requisites), A24C ranks #4 and holds 6.9% 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 A24B 1,799 A24D 1,661

Rising assignees active in A24C

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 Nicoventures Trading Limited 9.67x 33 → 319 company-wide · 17 in A24C
  2. #2 KT&G Corporation 8.79x 29 → 255 company-wide · 6 in A24C
  3. #3 G.D S.P.A. 2.53x 17 → 43 company-wide · 26 in A24C
  4. #4 JT International SA 2.17x 47 → 102 company-wide · 19 in A24C
  5. #5 China Tobacco Yunnan Industrial Co., Ltd. 1.83x 18 → 33 company-wide · 16 in A24C

A24C grants by year, peak 2024 (110)

US utility-patent grants per year in A24C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 73% versus 2015–2019.

20406080100120 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 76

Who leads A24C?

The 12 most active assignees in Machines FOR Making Cigars OR Cigarettes - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Philip Morris Products is the most active filer in A24C, holding 145 of the 702 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 A24C
Rank Company Patents in A24C
#1 Philip Morris Products S.A. 145
#2 Altria Client Services LLC 57
#3 International Tobacco Machinery Poland Sp. z o.o. 44
#4 R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company 42
#5 Blunt Wrap U.S.A., Inc. 28
#6 Japan Tobacco Inc. 26
#7 British American Tobacco (Investments) Limited 26
#8 G.D S.P.A. 26
#9 Philip Morris USA Inc. 22
#10 JT International SA 19
#11 Nicoventures Trading Limited 17
#12 China Tobacco Yunnan Industrial Co., Ltd. 16
#13 G.D Societa' PER Azioni 14
#14 Republic Tobacco L.P. 7
#15 KT&G Corporation 6
#16 Delfortgroup AG 6
#17 Hauni Maschinenbau GMBH 6
#18 Tobacco Research AND Development Institute (PROPRIETARY) Limited 6
#19 Tannpapier GMBH 6
#20 Canopy Growth Corporation 5

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading A24C 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 A24C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A24C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 5101520 050100150200 Patents in A24C Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Philip Morris ProductsAltria Client ServicesInternational Tobacco…R J Reynolds TobaccoBlunt Wrap UJapan TobaccoBritish American…G D S P APhilip Morris UsaJt InternationalNicoventures TradingChina Tobacco Yunnan…G D Societa' Per…Republic Tobacco
Top 14 A24C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A24C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near A24C's 702-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for A24C (#501 of 670 by volume ; lead share 20.7%) - not the A24 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

C23G 703 C25F 701 C05D 707 B44F 693

Nearest by lead-assignee share

B23H 19.7% B41J 19.3% C03B 22.4% A24D 22.5%

Questions about A24C

Which company holds the most patents in A24C?
Philip Morris Products S.A. leads A24C with 145 patents (20.7% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 69% of class grants.
Which A24C assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in A24C, Nicoventures Trading Limited shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (9.67x: 33 grants in 2019–2021 → 319 in 2022–2024) while holding 17 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does A24C compare inside parent class A24?
Inside A24 (TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; Simulated Smoking DEVICES; Smokers' Requisites), A24C ranks #4 of 4 subclasses by grant volume and holds 6.9% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is A24F (5,971 grants).

What to do with this data

A24C in context - here's where to go next.

  • Philip Morris Products S.A. leads A24C with 145 grants in this class. See full portfolio
  • A24C ranks #501 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 - A24C figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (702 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.