PlainPatent

CPC technology class · A24

A24F - Smokers' Requisites

Smokers' requisites; match boxes; simulated smoking devices. 5,971 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

5,971
US patents granted
#1/4
in A24
58.9%
A24 class share
+155%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Smokers' Requisites ranks #236 of 670 CPC technology areas - 5,971 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 155% over five years.

#236
of 670 CPC technology areas
5,971
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Altria Client Services
leading assignee (839)
+155%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How A24F's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, A24F recorded 3,703 grants versus 1,451 in 2015–2019 (+155% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2024 at 1,181 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 85 (+1289% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Altria Client Services LLC holds 14.1% of the class ; the top three share 32.7%.

Leaderboard read

A24F concentration, lead at 14.1%

Altria Client Services LLC leads this historical grant record at 14.1% of A24F - foreign corporation assignees hold 62% of class grants (3,386 of 5,447). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
14.1%

839 of 5,971 grants

Top three share
32.7%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
153

more grants than Philip Morris Products S.A.

Where A24F sits inside A24

Among 4 subclasses in A24 (TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; Simulated Smoking DEVICES; Smokers' Requisites), A24F ranks #1 and holds 58.9% 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.

A24B 1,799 A24D 1,661 A24C 702

Rising assignees active in A24F

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 Aspire North America LLC 99x 0 → 99 company-wide · 44 in A24F
  2. #2 Fontem Ventures B.V. 30x 0 → 30 company-wide · 51 in A24F
  3. #3 Imperial Tobacco Limited 24x 1 → 24 company-wide · 44 in A24F
  4. #4 Shaheen Innovations Holding Limted 19x 2 → 38 company-wide · 37 in A24F
  5. #5 Huizhou Happy Vaping Technology Limited 19x 0 → 19 company-wide · 14 in A24F

A24F grants by year, peak 2024 (1,181)

US utility-patent grants per year in A24F, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 155% versus 2015–2019.

05001,0001,500 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 802

Who leads A24F?

The 12 most active assignees in Smokers' REQUISITES; Match BOXES; Simulated Smoking Devices - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Altria Client Services is the most active filer in A24F, holding 839 of the 5,971 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 A24F
Rank Company Patents in A24F
#1 Altria Client Services LLC 839
#2 Philip Morris Products S.A. 686
#3 RAI Strategic Holdings, Inc. 430
#4 Nicoventures Trading Limited 335
#5 KT&G Corporation 273
#6 Japan Tobacco Inc. 250
#7 Huizhou Kimree Technology Co., Ltd. Shenzhen Branch 198
#8 JT International SA 163
#9 Shenzhen First Union Technology Co., Ltd. 161
#10 Shenzhen Smoore Technology Limited 141
#11 Juul Labs, Inc. 137
#12 Fontem Holdings 1 B.V. 120
#13 R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company 78
#14 Philip Morris USA Inc. 76
#15 Nicoventures Holdings Limited 54
#16 Fontem Ventures B.V. 51
#17 Changzhou Patent Electronic Technology Co., Ltd 49
#18 British American Tobacco (Investments) Limited 48
#19 China Tobacco Hunan Industrial Co., Ltd. 48
#20 Joyetech Europe Holding GmbH 45

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading A24F 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 A24F assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A24F. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 5101520 02004006008001000 Patents in A24F Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Altria Client ServicesPhilip Morris ProductsRai Strategic HoldingsNicoventures TradingKt&GJapan TobaccoHuizhou Kimree…Jt InternationalShenzhen First Union…Shenzhen Smoore…Juul LabsFontem Holdings 1 B VR J Reynolds TobaccoPhilip Morris Usa
Top 14 A24F assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A24F. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near A24F's 5,971-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for A24F (#236 of 670 by volume ; lead share 14.1%) - not the A24 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

C30B 5,993 D06F 6,009 A43B 6,010 B23Q 5,906

Nearest by lead-assignee share

G11C 14.1% F05D 14.1% G04C 14.1% F03D 14.2%

Questions about A24F

Which company holds the most patents in A24F?
Altria Client Services LLC leads A24F with 839 patents (14.1% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 62% of class grants.
Which A24F assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in A24F, Aspire North America LLC shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (99x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 99 in 2022–2024) while holding 44 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does A24F compare inside parent class A24?
Inside A24 (TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; Simulated Smoking DEVICES; Smokers' Requisites), A24F ranks #1 of 4 subclasses by grant volume and holds 58.9% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is A24B (1,799 grants).

What to do with this data

A24F in context - here's where to go next.

  • Altria Client Services LLC leads A24F with 839 grants in this class. See full portfolio
  • A24F ranks #236 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
  • Inside parent class A24, the largest sibling subclass is A24B with 1,799 grants. Explore A24B

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

Methodology - A24F figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (5,971 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.