The dataset’s ranked leader holds 41 of the 180 records in scope, well ahead of fifth place at 11 and tenth place at 5. The top five assignees combined account for 72.8% of all records, and the top ten reach 90.0%, so the field is dominated by a small group of established aerospace-seating suppliers rather than spread evenly across many filers. Anyone entering this space should expect to design around claims held by that leading handful before looking at the long tail.

Filing activity peaked at 32 records in 2019 and the most recent complete comparison shows a drop from 6 filings in 2021 to 1 in 2024, an 83% decline over that window. That said, publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so the 2025 and 2026 figures in any such dataset are understated and should not be read as continuing the decline. The honest read is that activity cooled markedly through 2024, with the very latest trend still unresolved.

The corpus combines seat-mechanism terms such as linear actuators and seat shells with cabin-configuration terms such as bed conversion, herringbone layout, footwell and privacy divider, which keeps it focused on kinematic and layout claims rather than trim or in-flight entertainment. IPC data confirms this: B64D aircraft equipment touches 82.8% of the 180 records, far ahead of B60N general vehicle seating at 21.1%. Smaller crossovers into lavatory equipment, patient transport, automotive, rail, gearing and electric motors each sit under 6% of records.