CPC technology class · A24

A24D - Cigars

Cigars; cigarettes; tobacco smoke filters; mouthpieces for cigars or cigarettes; manufacture of tobacco smoke filters or mouthpieces. 1,661 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

1,661
US patents granted: A24
Parent CPC class: 20
Active assignees: +110%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Cigars ranks #391 of 670 CPC technology areas - 1,661 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 110% over five years.

#391
of 670 CPC technology areas: 1,661
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Philip Morris Products
leading assignee (373): +110%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Top assignee: Philip Morris Products S.a. (373 patents)

CPC subclass A24D - CIGARS; CIGARETTES; TOBACCO SMOKE FILTERS; MOUTHPIECES FOR CIGARS OR CIGARETTES; MANUFACTURE OF TOBACCO SMOKE FILTERS OR MOUTHPIECES - covers 1,661 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 A24D is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Philip Morris Products S.a. leads with 373 patents, followed by KT&G Corporation at 109 grants and Altria Client Services Llc at 107.

Filing activity in A24D is up 110% 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 A24D innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in A24D, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 110% versus 2015–2019.

Philip Morris Products

373
Kt&G

109
Altria Client Services

107
R J Reynolds Tobacco

99
Philip Morris Usa

96
British American Toba…

92
Nicoventures Trading

74
Japan Tobacco

64
Rai Strategic Holdings

58
22nd Century

35
Jt International

32
Blunt Wrap U

30

What this shows Philip Morris Products is the most active filer in A24D, holding 373 of the 1,661 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 A24D
Rank	Company	Patents in A24D
#1	Philip Morris Products S.a.	373
#2	KT&G Corporation	109
#3	Altria Client Services Llc	107
#4	R.j. Reynolds Tobacco Company	99
#5	Philip Morris USA Inc.	96
#6	British American Tobacco (investments) Limited	92
#7	Nicoventures Trading Limited	74
#8	Japan Tobacco Inc.	64
#9	RAI Strategic Holdings, Inc.	58
#10	22ND Century Limited, Llc	35
#11	JT International Sa	32
#12	Blunt Wrap U.s.a., Inc.	30
#13	International Tobacco Machinery Poland Sp. Z O.o.	25
#14	Delfortgroup Ag	18
#15	Good Tree International, Inc.	12
#16	G.d S.p.a.	11
#17	Celanese Acetate Llc	11
#18	JUUL Labs, Inc.	10
#19	G.d Societa' PER Azioni	10
#20	Essentra Filter Products Development Co. Pte. Ltd.	10

About This Class

CPC subclass A24D belongs to class A24.

1,661 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 A24D 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 A24D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A24D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class A24D?

CPC subclass A24D covers CIGARS; CIGARETTES; TOBACCO SMOKE FILTERS; MOUTHPIECES FOR CIGARS OR CIGARETTES; MANUFACTURE OF TOBACCO SMOKE FILTERS OR MOUTHPIECES. It belongs to CPC class A24 (TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES), with 1,661 US utility patents granted since 2015.

How many patents have been filed in A24D?

1,661 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass A24D between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.

Which company holds the most patents in A24D?

Philip Morris Products S.a. leads A24D with 373 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.

How is patent data for A24D 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 A24D 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.