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World IP Day 2026 — Recognized Innovator

Joseph M. Johnson Sr.

  • Owner & CEO
  • Really Right Stuff LLC

Recognized for owner-led product innovation in precision camera and shooting support equipment.

Joseph helped grow Really Right Stuff from a quick-release plate company into an American-made manufacturer of tripods, ball heads, mounting systems, and precision support equipment used by photographers and precision shooters worldwide.

Certificate of Recognition

Top IP Innovator — Precision Support Systems & Optics · 2026

Really Right Stuff Patents (last 5 years)
0
First Filing
2002
USPTO Art Unit Focus
3632 / 2852 / 3641
Role
Owner & CEO
Presented by InspireIP

World IP Day Recognition Series · 2026

Really Right Stuff patents, last 5 years
0
Filed in 2023 alone
0
Recognition category
0 Hardware & Optics
The Recognition

Engineering the platform between the lens and the ground

On World IP Day 2026, InspireIP recognizes Joseph Johnson Sr., owner and CEO of Really Right Stuff, for building a highly active patent program in precision camera and shooting support equipment.

Joseph acquired Really Right Stuff in 2002 and helped turn it into a full-line manufacturer of American-made support systems for photographers, cinematographers, hunters, and precision shooters.

Under his leadership, the company moved more manufacturing in-house and later expanded into the shooting and hunting market through SOAR, its Sport Optic and Rifle division.

Quick-Release Systems
Precision Tripods
Ball Heads & Gimbals
Lens Collars & Feet
Arca-Swiss Compatible
Precision Rifle Support
Patent Footprint

A portfolio shaped around the connection between camera, optic, and platform

1990–2002

Bryan Geyer founds Really Right Stuff in 1990 to build better Arca-Swiss-compatible quick-release plates. In 2002, longtime customer Joseph Johnson Sr. buys the company and moves from Shanghai to California to run it from his garage.

2003–2020

27 filings across 2020 and prior years, with 16 in 2021 and 11 in 2020. Under Joseph’s leadership, RRS expands into tripods, ball heads, lens feet, L-brackets, and clamp systems. In 2018, RRS relocates to Lehi, Utah and brings most manufacturing in-house.

2021–2023

43 patents across three years, peaking at 17 filings in 2023. RRS launches SOAR, its precision shooting division, extending the product line into rifle support tripods, saddle mounts, and optic mounting systems. The portfolio grows across quick-release mechanisms, tripod leg designs, ball head architectures, and modular rail systems.

2024–2025

18 more filings surface. The company continues expanding both its photography and SOAR product lines, introducing new clamp designs, mobile phone mounts, and ultralight saddle mounts with integrated Arca dovetails.

Precision Support Systems & Optics

A small-entity company filing like a much larger one

Really Right Stuff is classified by the USPTO as a Small Entity, yet its five-year filing volume of 72 patents sits well above what is typical for precision equipment manufacturers of its size. Much of that activity is concentrated in the transport, semiconductors, and optics art units that protect tripod mechanisms, quick-release systems, ball head designs, and mounting architectures.

Patents, last 5 years
Peak year (2023)
Filings
USPTO entity status
Small Entity
Art unit focus
3632 / 2852 / 3641
"Leading an innovation program is harder than inventing on your own. It means choosing what to file, who to credit, and where to invest, over and over, for years. The leaders we recognize on World IP Day have done that consistently, and built something that compounds."

Sam Zellner

Founder, InspireIP · Inventor · Innovation Leader

About Really Right Stuff LLC

Built in America, trusted by professionals worldwide

Originally founded in 1990 and headquartered in Lehi, Utah since 2018, Really Right Stuff designs and manufactures precision camera support equipment and shooting accessories.

The company’s product lines span quick-release clamps and plates, carbon fiber and aluminum tripods, ball heads, gimbals, lens collars, L-brackets, and multi-purpose rails.

Through its SOAR division, the company also produces tripods, heads, and mounts for precision shooting and hunting.

Really Right Stuff has been under the ownership of Joseph and Joan Johnson since 2002. The company manufactures most products in-house in the United States and serves photographers, cinematographers, nature shooters, and precision rifle users worldwide.

IP Day 2027

Know an IP innovator who deserves recognition?

Each year we recognize the inventors and IP leaders behind the portfolios that protect what their companies create. That includes founder-inventors whose contributions often go unmarked. Nominate someone for next year’s list.

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