Automated Storage & Retrieval Patents: Leaders & Filing Trends 2026
Automated storage and retrieval patents: who leads and where the field is still open
Filings nearly doubled in three years — recorded filings grew from 35 in 2021 to 76 in 2024, a +117% rise, before the usual 18-month publication lag makes the most recent years look artificially quiet. Filings climbed from 28 in 2017 to a peak of 99 in 2023, with the 2021-to-2024 span alone showing +117% growth (35 to 76 records). The drop-off visible in 2025 and 2026 reflects publication lag, not a cooling field.
- 1SYMBOTIC LLC49
- 2DEMATIC CORP48
- 3SYMBOTIC CANADA ULC42
- 4STRONG FORCE VCN PORTFOLIO 2019 LLC41
- 5MYCRONIC34
See the full automated storage & retrieval patent landscape 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 about automated storage and retrieval patents
Who holds the most patents in automated storage and retrieval systems?
The dataset’s assignee ranking shows a single leading filer with 49 records, well ahead of the fifth-ranked assignee at 34 and the tenth at 18. The top 5 assignees combined account for 214 of the 677 records in scope (31.6%), and the top 10 extend to 336 records (49.6%). That still leaves roughly half the field spread thinly across the remaining ranked companies, so leadership here is real but not a monopoly.
Is the automated storage and retrieval patent field growing or slowing down?
Recorded filings grew from 35 in 2021 to 76 in 2024, a +117% increase, with a peak of 99 records in 2023. Figures for 2025 and 2026 appear lower, but that reflects the roughly 18-month lag between filing and publication rather than an actual drop in activity. Treat 2023 and 2024 as the most reliable recent indicators of filing momentum.
What patent classes cover automated storage and retrieval technology?
B65G (conveying and material handling) is by far the dominant classification, appearing in 71.3% of the 677 records in scope. G06Q (business, commerce and administrative data processing, which covers warehouse management logic) follows at 26.6%. Robotics (B25J), control systems (G05B and G05D), lifting devices (B66F) and digital processing (G06F) each appear in under 10% of records, indicating the physical handling layer carries more claim density than the software and control layers.
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 Storage & Retrieval Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. 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.