Composite Fan Blades Patents: Top Companies & Filing Trends 2026
Composite Fan Blade and Containment Casing Patents
82.0% of all 532 records sit with just five assignees — this is a field where the claim space at the top is almost fully occupied. Filings ran at 13 in 2017 and reached a peak of 60 in 2024, with the 2021-to-2024 span alone showing +233% growth (18 to 60 records). 2025 and 2026 figures are necessarily partial: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the most recent two years will fill in as later-filed applications publish.
- 1GENERAL ELECTRIC CO190
- 2ROLLS ROYCE PLC154
- 3UNITED TECH CORP44
- 4ALBANY ENGINEERED COMPOSITES INC26
- 5RTX CORP22
See the full composite fan blades and containment casings 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 this landscape
Who holds the most composite fan blade patents?
One assignee leads the ranked list with 190 of the 532 records in scope, well ahead of the next four companies that together bring the top five to 82.0% of all records. That concentration means a competitive read of this field is really a read of a handful of portfolios rather than a broad market. Fifth place holds 22 records and tenth place holds just 5, showing how steep the drop-off is past the leaders.
Is composite fan blade patent filing still growing?
Yes, based on the complete years available: filings rose from 18 in 2021 to a peak of 60 in 2024, a 233% increase over that span. 2025 and 2026 figures in the trend are partial because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so those two years will continue to fill in and should not be read as a slowdown. 2024 is the most recent year that can be treated as a complete count.
What does US20170081752A1 actually cover?
US20170081752A1 describes a method for manufacturing a near-net-shape metallic leading edge, such as one used on a composite or aluminum alloy fan blade, using a powder-bed fusion additive process guided by a digital CAD model. The claims center on the manufacturing method itself — the layer-by-layer build-up approach — rather than on the leading edge’s shape or material composition in isolation. Anyone developing an additive route to metallic leading-edge protection on a fan blade should review this filing’s process claims specifically, not just its stated end use.
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 Composite Fan Blades and Containment Casings 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.