Automated Fibre Placement Patents: Top Companies & Trends 2026
Automated Fibre Placement and Tape Laying Patents
69.2% concentration. The top five assignees account for 785 of the 1,135 records in scope — this field is claimed by a small group, not a broad crowd. Filings rose to a peak of 95 records in 2019, then eased; the 2021-to-2024 window — the last stretch unaffected by publication lag — shows a move from 66 to 38 records, a 42% decline.
- 1THE BOEING CO550
- 2CYTEC IND INC83
- 3INGERSOLL MACHINE TOOLS INC65
- 4TSUDAKOMA KOGYO KK47
- 5SUBARU CORP40
See the full automated fibre placement and tape laying analysis in Eureka
- The complete ranking, not just the top five
- Every IPC branch with its share of the corpus
- The most-cited records, and where claim space is still thin
Common questions on automated fibre placement patents
Who holds the most patents in automated fibre placement and tape laying?
One assignee holds 550 of the 1,135 records in this dataset, close to half the field by itself. The next four ranked assignees combine with that leader for 785 records, or 69.2% of all records in scope. This level of concentration means most of the foundational equipment and process claims sit with a small group rather than being spread across many competitors.
Is automated fibre placement patent activity growing or slowing?
Filing peaked at 95 records in 2019 and has declined since; comparing 2021 (66 records) to 2024 (38 records), the most recent year unaffected by publication lag, shows a 42% drop. That said, patent publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so figures for 2025 and 2026 in any trend chart are still filling in and should not be read as confirmation of a continued slowdown.
What technology areas dominate automated fibre placement patents?
The B29C subclass, covering shaping of plastics, appears in 70.6% of the 1,135 records in scope, making it by far the dominant classification. Layered products and laminates (B32B) and material testing (G01N) follow at 12.9% and 9.7% respectively, while aircraft-specific classes such as B64F and B64C each account for under 6% of records despite the technology’s strong aerospace association.
Disclaimer. This analysis is based on Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent records and is provided for general information and reference only. Patent data carries inherent limitations — recent filings are under-counted because of publication lag, counts may be on a record or family basis, classification and applicant-name data may contain errors or duplicates, and the underlying search query defines the scope shown — so the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing here is an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Verify independently and review with qualified patent and legal professionals before acting on it.
Method: Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Automated Fibre Placement and Tape Laying covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish. Every share divides by all records in scope. Data: Patsnap Eureka. See the full landscape report.