CPC technology class · F41

F41C - Smallarms

Smallarms, e.g. pistols, rifles ; accessories therefor. 1,639 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

1,639
US patents granted: #4/7
in F41: 12.3%
F41 class share: +1%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Smallarms ranks #395 of 670 CPC technology areas - 1,639 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 1% over five years.

#395
of 670 CPC technology areas: 1,639
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Magpul Industries
leading assignee (64): +1%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How F41C's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, F41C recorded 756 grants versus 747 in 2015–2019 (+1% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2019 at 188 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 109 (+72% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Magpul Industries Corp. holds 3.9% of the class ; the top three share 9.3%.

Leaderboard read

F41C concentration, lead at 3.9%

Magpul Industries Corp. leads this historical grant record at 3.9% of F41C - us corporation assignees hold 89% of class grants (941 of 1,053). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 3.9%
Top three share: 9.3%
Lead over #2: 6

Where F41C sits inside F41

Among 7 subclasses in F41 (Weapons), F41C ranks #4 and holds 12.3% of the parent class's 13,338 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

F41A 3,993 F41H 2,723 F41G 2,623 F41B 1,581 F41J 473 F41F 306

Rising assignees active in F41C

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 Biofire Technologies Inc. 22x 0 → 22 company-wide · 10 in F41C
#2 Glock Technology GmbH 5.83x 6 → 35 company-wide · 9 in F41C
#3 Armaments Research Company, Inc. 5.67x 6 → 34 company-wide · 12 in F41C
#4 Gstc LLC 4.00x 0 → 4 company-wide · 6 in F41C
#5 Eight Holdings LLC 4.00x 6 → 24 company-wide · 5 in F41C

F41C grants by year, peak 2019 (188)

US utility-patent grants per year in F41C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 1% versus 2015–2019.

Magpul Industries

64
Vista Outdoor…

58
Smith & Wesson

31
Sig Sauer

25
Strike Industries

18
Sturm Ruger &

16
Bravo Mfg

16
Sentry Solutions…

15
Blue Force Gear

15
Axon Enterprise

13
Crosman

13
Leapers

13

What this shows Magpul Industries is the most active filer in F41C, holding 64 of the 1,639 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 F41C
Rank	Company	Patents in F41C
#1	Magpul Industries Corp.	64
#2	Vista Outdoor Operations LLC	58
#3	Smith & Wesson Inc.	31
#4	SIG Sauer Inc.	25
#5	Strike Industries, Inc.	18
#6	Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.	16
#7	Bravo Company MFG, Inc.	16
#8	Sentry Solutions Products Group LLC	15
#9	Blue Force Gear, Inc.	15
#10	Axon Enterprise, Inc.	13
#11	Crosman Corporation	13
#12	Leapers, Inc.	13
#13	Lwrc International LLC	13
#14	R A Brands L.L.C.	12
#15	Armaments Research Company, Inc.	12
#16	Ardesa, S.A.	12
#17	WHG Properties, LLC	11
#18	MCP IP, LLC	11
#19	Safariland, LLC	11
#20	Hornady Manufacturing Company	11

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading F41C 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 F41C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F41C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near F41C's 1,639-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for F41C (#395 of 670 by volume ; lead share 3.9%) - not the F41 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

G16C 1,640 A44C 1,629 B26F 1,627 G16Y 1,652

Nearest by lead-assignee share

B60G 3.9% G05B 3.9% E01H 3.9% G01P 3.9%

Questions about F41C

Which company holds the most patents in F41C?

Magpul Industries Corp. leads F41C with 64 patents (3.9% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 89% of class grants.

Which F41C assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in F41C, Biofire Technologies Inc. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (22x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 22 in 2022–2024) while holding 10 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does F41C compare inside parent class F41?

Inside F41 (Weapons), F41C ranks #4 of 7 subclasses by grant volume and holds 12.3% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is F41A (3,993 grants).

What to do with this data

F41C in context - here's where to go next.

Magpul Industries Corp. leads F41C with 64 grants in this class. See full portfolio
F41C ranks #395 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
Inside parent class F41, the largest sibling subclass is F41A with 3,993 grants. Explore F41A

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

Methodology - F41C figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (1,639 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.