B&T AG

B&T AG is a privately-owned Swiss defense supplier specializing in the design and manufacture of firearms and tactical components. Founded in May 1991 as Brügger & Thomet AG, the company is headquartered in Thun, Switzerland. Co-founder Karl Brügger became the sole owner in 2005, and the company was renamed B&T AG in 2011. As of 2017, the company employed approximately 70 people.

B&T is an operating company with two primary divisions: manufacturing and trading. The manufacturing division produces a wide array of small arms, sound suppressors, and modular accessory mounts. Its product lines are primarily focused on the military and law enforcement markets and include the APC (Advanced Police Carbine) series of submachine guns, the MP9/TP9 submachine gun and pistol, and the APR series of precision rifles. The company began by producing suppressors and continues to be a major original equipment manufacturer for other leading European arms companies. Its trading division supplies the Swiss domestic market by representing global brands like Heckler & Koch and Aimpoint.

The company's patent litigation history consists of one tracked case as a defendant and none as a plaintiff, which is consistent with its profile as a manufacturing and operating company. This defensive posture indicates that the company is being sued for patent infringement rather than asserting its own patents against others. The single case was filed in the Arizona District Court.

The notable case is RARE BREED TRIGGERS, INC. et al. v. B&T USA LLC et al. Rare Breed Triggers is the maker of "forced-reset triggers" (FRTs) and has engaged in aggressive patent enforcement litigation against numerous competitors in the firearms industry since settling its own legal disputes with the US government. The lawsuit targets both B&T AG and its U.S. subsidiary, B&T USA LLC, alleging patent infringement related to trigger technology.