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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Keithrwalker (talk | contribs) at 22:25, 12 March 2024 (→Prolific Inventors: Updated patent data). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The 100 known most prolific inventors based on worldwide utility patents are shown in the following table. While in many cases this is the number of utility patents granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, it may include utility patents granted by other countries, as noted by the source references for an inventor.

Prolific Inventors

Inventor		Pats	Fams	Fam %	Pat Yrs	Yrs	Pat /Yr	Inv /Pat	Pat Residence	Majority Assignment
Shunpei Yamazaki		6290	2800	44.5%	1972—2024	51.9	121	3.6	Japan	Semiconductor Energy Laboratory
Kia Silverbrook		4747	1311	27.6%	1994—2014	20	237	1.6	Australia	Silverbrook Research
Tao Luo		3000	2520	84.0%	2006—2024	17.8	169	5.6	USA	Qualcomm
Kangguo Cheng		2722	1486	54.6%	2004—2024	19.3	141	3.9	USA	IBM
Frederick E. Shelton IV		2215	1077	48.6%	2005—2024	18.7	118	4.5	USA	Ethicon
Peter Gaal		2004	1549	77.3%	2002—2024	21.6	93	5.9	USA	Qualcomm
Lowell L. Wood, Jr.		1992	1324	66.5%	1971—2024	52.3	38	8.8	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Junyi Li		1990	1687	84.8%	2002—2024	21.3	93	5.2	USA	Qualcomm
Wanshi Chen		1907	1486	77.9%	2009—2024	14.8	129	5.7	USA	Qualcomm
Roderick A. Hyde		1888	1252	66.3%	2001—2023	22.5	84	8.7	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Chen-Hua Yu		1666	921	55.3%	1996—2024	27.8	60	4.9	Taiwan	TSMC
Hanbyul Seo		1566	1148	73.3%	2012—2024	11.9	132	3.8	South Korea	LG
Jun Koyama		1477	619	41.9%	1991—2024	32.7	45	3.1	Japan	Semiconductor Energy Laboratory
Xiaoxia Zhang		1447	1273	88.0%	2009—2024	15.1	96	5.5	USA	Qualcomm
Gurtej Singh Sandhu		1419	585	41.2%	1991—2024	32.6	44	2.5	USA	Micron
Esmael H. Dinan		1371	598	43.6%	2006—2024	17.7	77	3.6	USA	Ofinno
Paul Lapstun		1304	246	18.9%	2000—2023	23	57	2.5	Australia	Silverbrook Research
Shou-Shan Fan		1296	1084	83.6%	2006—2024	17.8	73	4.2	China	Hon Hai
Clarence T. Tegreene		1245	902	72.4%	2000—2024	23.1	54	10.1	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Alexander Reznicek		1228	729	59.4%	2006—2024	17.9	69	3.9	USA	IBM
Sarbajit K. Rakshit		1221	1007	82.5%	2013—2024	11.1	110	3.4	India	IBM
Jing Sun		1208	1038	85.9%	2012—2024	11.2	108	5.9	USA	Qualcomm
Satoshi Seo		1134	541	47.7%	2002—2024	21.2	53	4.1	Japan	Semiconductor Energy Laboratory
Kijun Kim		1111	785	70.7%	2013—2024	10.2	109	4.6	South Korea	LG
Leonard Forbes		1109	411	37.1%	1975—2019	43.3	26	2.6	USA	Micron
Edward K. Y. Jung		1109	794	71.6%	1996—2023	27.4	40	8.0	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Thomas Edison		1084	NA	NA	1869—1933	63.9	17	1.0	USA	Thomas Edison
Suckchel Yang		1070	690	64.5%	2013—2024	10.7	100	4.7	South Korea	LG
Rick Allen Hamilton II		1062	714	67.2%	1999—2024	25	42	4.2	USA	IBM
Joonkui Ahn		1055	686	65.0%	2013—2024	10.7	99	4.7	South Korea	LG
Shan Liu		1021	710	69.5%	2013—2024	10.5	97	3.4	USA	Tencent
Marta Karczewicz		1019	844	82.8%	2000—2024	23.2	44	4.0	USA	Qualcomm
Donald E. Weder		1000	395	39.5%	1978—2015	37.1	27	1.1	USA	Weder Family Trust
George Albert Lyon		993	NA	NA	1901—1965	64.5	15	1.0	Canada	Lyon George Albert
Michael J. Sullivan		992	534	53.8%	1989—2024	34.5	29	3.8	USA	Acushnet Holdings
Juan Montojo		992	809	81.6%	2004—2024	20	50	6.9	USA	Qualcomm
Jordin T. Kare		988	641	64.9%	1992—2024	31.4	31	9.1	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Ruilong Xie		983	731	74.4%	2013—2024	11.1	89	4.2	USA	IBM
Jason K. Resch		982	497	50.6%	2009—2024	14.5	68	4.2	USA	IBM
Jay S. Walker		978	422	43.1%	1998—2024	25.8	38	5.2	USA	Walker Digital
Yunjung Yi		960	686	71.5%	2015—2024	8.2	117	3.3	South Korea	LG
John F. O'Connor		949	NA	NA	1901—1935	33.9	28	NA	USA	William H. Miner
Jason L. Harris		942	580	61.6%	2011—2024	13.1	72	6.0	USA	Ethicon
Ahmadreza Rofougaran		941	457	48.6%	2002—2024	21.7	43	6.4	USA	Broadcom
Tingfang Ji		936	695	74.3%	2006—2024	17.6	53	6.9	USA	Qualcomm
Melvin De Groote		925	NA	NA	1924—1966	41.8	22	NA	USA	Petrolite
Takahiro Nishi		908	333	36.7%	2001—2024	22.5	40	6.3	Japan	Panasonic
David R. Hall		905	750	82.9%	1985—2024	38.5	24	3.8	USA	Hall Labs
Nathan Myhrvold		904	612	67.7%	1994—2023	29.1	31	11.1	USA	Intellectual Ventures
William H. Eby		898	894	99.6%	1994—2024	29.7	30	1.2	USA	Monsanto
Francis H. Richards		894	NA	NA	1899—1930	30.8	29	NA	USA	Francis H. Richards
Mark Malamud		885	690	78.0%	1997—2023	25.9	34	7.5	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Robert W. Lord		865	681	78.7%	2003—2023	19.4	45	7.6	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Hajime Kimura		860	279	32.4%	2002—2024	21.3	40	2.6	Japan	Semiconductor Energy Laboratory
Royce A. Levien		854	666	78.0%	1997—2023	25.9	33	6.8	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Seungmin Lee		842	618	73.4%	2014—2024	9.4	90	3.5	South Korea	LG
Hongyuan Zhang		840	465	55.4%	2009—2024	14.8	57	3.9	USA	Marvell
Muriel Y. Ishikawa		838	560	66.8%	2002—2023	21.2	40	11.1	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Michael K. Gschwind		834	442	53.0%	2001—2023	22	38	2.6	USA	IBM
Clifford A. Pickover		829	546	65.9%	1992—2024	31.8	26	3.9	USA	IBM
Lee D. Whetsel		827	129	15.6%	1991—2024	32.9	25	1.1	USA	Texas Instruments
Chih-Chao Yang		823	509	61.8%	2003—2024	20.1	41	3.4	USA	IBM
Devendra K. Sadana		803	453	56.4%	1983—2024	41	20	4.3	USA	IBM
Salman Akram		782	290	37.1%	1995—2024	28.6	27	2.9	USA	Micron
SungDuck Chun		782	475	60.7%	2007—2024	16.2	48	3.8	South Korea	LG
Warren M. Farnworth		774	289	37.3%	1990—2020	24.4	32	2.8	USA	Micron
Bruce B. Doris		763	433	56.7%	1995—2023	28.7	27	4.2	USA	IBM
Jeyhan Karaoguz		757	372	49.1%	1996—2024	27.5	28	4.6	USA	Broadcom
Carleton Ellis		753	NA	NA	1902—1946	43.1	17	NA	USA	Ellis Foster Co
Ali Khakifirooz		749	405	54.1%	2011—2023	12	62	4.2	USA	IBM
Hsien-Wei Chen		742	376	50.7%	2005—2024	19	39	3.5	Taiwan	TSMC
John M. Santosuosso		738	457	61.9%	2001—2024	22.5	33	3.9	USA	IBM
Hideo Ando		733	123	16.8%	1983—2020	36.7	20	3.1	Japan	Toshiba
Youngdae Lee		729	573	78.6%	2014—2024	9.9	74	3.1	South Korea	LG
Xue Dong		726	712	98.1%	2010—2024	13.2	55	7.4	China	BOE
Justin T. Mason		726	722	99.4%	2008—2024	15.3	47	1.0	USA	MS Technologies
George Spector		723	723	100%	1974—1998	24.6	29	2.1	USA	George Spector
Stuart C. Salter		723	678	93.8%	2009—2024	14.2	51	4.8	USA	Ford
Austin L. Gurney		718	182	25.3%	1999—2021	21.6	33	2.9	USA	Genentech
Jean-Philippe M. Vasseur		707	572	80.9%	2006—2024	17.8	40	2.6	France	Cisco Systems
Shougo Sato		705	280	39.7%	1992—2024	31.4	22	1.8	Japan	Brother
Gregory J. Boss		704	482	68.5%	2008—2024	16	44	4.2	USA	IBM
Lisa Seacat DeLuca		702	509	72.5%	2009—2024	15	47	2.7	USA	IBM
Tetsujiro Kondo		700	528	75.4%	1987—2021	34	21	3.8	Japan	Sony
Elihu Thomson		696	NA	NA	1899—1935	35.9	19	NA	USA	GE
Frederick A. Ware		686	222	32.4%	1981—2024	42.2	16	2.8	USA	Rambus
Irwin Gerszberg		680	312	45.9%	1994—2023	29.2	23	6.8	USA	AT&T
Eric C. Leuthardt		674	457	67.8%	2006—2023	16.7	40	9.1	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Satoshi Nagata		674	641	95.1%	2011—2024	12.4	54	4.0	Japan	NTT
Chung-Shi Liu		666	374	56.2%	2000—2024	24.1	28	6.1	Taiwan	TSMC
Yan Zhou		665	595	89.5%	2012—2024	11.5	58	4.4	USA	Qualcomm
Paul S. Henry		656	301	45.9%	1978—2023	44.9	15	6.3	USA	AT&T
William I. Wood		653	259	39.7%	1981—2013	32.2	20	5.2	USA	Genentech
Simon R. Walmsley		651	171	26.3%	1995—2012	17.2	38	3.2	Australia	Silverbrook Research
Jae Hoon Chung		650	381	58.6%	2010—2023	13	50	4.5	South Korea	LG
Xiaochuan Chen		638	626	98.1%	2014—2024	9.6	66	7.0	China	BOE
Hui-Ling Lou		637	345	54.2%	1997—2024	26.5	24	3.9	USA	Marvell
Edward J. Nowak		635	410	64.6%	1979—2021	41.1	15	3.0	USA	IBM
Woosuk Ko		635	241	38.0%	2015—2024	8.9	71	3.4	South Korea	LG
Audrey D. Goddard		630	154	24.4%	1997—2023	26.2	24	5.3	USA	Genentech

This table is usually updated every Tuesday, and is current as of March 12, 2024.

The columns are defined as follows:

• Inventor: The name of the inventor.
• Pats: The number of utility patents that have been issued. Only utility patents (or the international equivalent) are listed, as a utility patent is a patent for an invention. Not all patents are for inventions. Other patent types include: design patents for the ornamental design of an object; plant patents for plant varieties; and reissue patents, where a correction is made to an already granted patent. This list does not include patent applications (patents pending) as there is no guarantee that a patent application actually describes a novel invention until the patent is granted.
• Fams: The number of patent families, which in USPTO data includes an original or continuation-in-part patent by itself or with one or more continuation or divisional patents based on the original or continuation-in-part patent. This is different than global patent families that represent a patent filed in more than one jurisdiction. "NA" signifies the inventor was active prior to digital records.
• Fam %: The percentage of original and continuation-in-part patents that are in the inventor's patent portfolio . "NA" signifies the inventor was active prior to digital records.
• Pat Yrs: The first and last year in which an inventor received a patent issuance.
• Yrs: The number of years from first issuance to most recent issuance, rounded to first decimal based on dates.
• Pats /Yr: The average number of patents received per year .
• Inv / Pat: The average number of inventors listed on the inventor's most recent 50 patents as of September 7, 2021 or on the date the inventor was added to the table if later. "NA" signifies the inventor was active prior to digital records.
• Pat Residence: The country of inventor's residence listed in their most recent patent issuance.
• Majority Assignment: The entity that has the most patents assigned from an inventor's portfolio. This is current and not original assignment. It is usually, but not always an indication of which company the inventor worked at for the majority of their patent activity.

Significance of inventions

This table is a sortable list of the most prolific inventors as measured by utility patents granted. It does not include other types of invention, such as inventions that were never applied for nor granted, for which there is no known source. Nor does the table attempt to measure the significance of an inventor and their inventions. The significance of inventions is often not apparent until many decades after the invention has been made. For recent inventors, it is not yet possible to determine their place in history.

Various published lists

Rankings of prolific inventors have been published at various times. However, until the patent records were digitized, these lists were very tedious to prepare, as many thousands of patent records had to be checked manually. Even after digitization, it is still not a simple process. While the USPTO keeps statistics for annual rankings of inventions assigned to companies, it no longer publishes rankings of individual inventors. The last such list was published by the USPTO in 1998. Also, patents predating 1976 have not yet been digitized in the USPTO records. This means that patents before 1976 will not be included in a USPTO search by inventor name, and the number of patents granted before 1976 must be added to current searches.

A more extensive list of prolific inventors with additional information and ability to filter on country, gender, time period, patent type, and Nobel laureate title can be found at idiyas.com/top/inventors. There are some discrepancies with this article due to different inventor queries that attempt to account for data issues such as typos and multiple inventors with the same name.

See also

• Timeline of historic inventions
• List of inventors

References

1. "USPTO publication: Prolific Inventors Receiving Utility Patents 1988–1997" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-05-02. Retrieved 2011-07-12.

References of Inventors' Patents

1. Shunpei Yamazaki
2. Kia Silverbrook
3. Tao Luo
4. Kangguo Cheng
5. Frederick E. Shelton IV
6. Peter Gaal
7. Lowell L. Wood, Jr.
8. Junyi Li
9. Wanshi Chen
10. Roderick A. Hyde
11. Chen-Hua Yu
12. Hanbyul Seo
13. Jun Koyama
14. Xiaoxia Zhang
15. Gurtej Singh Sandhu
16. Esmael H. Dinan
17. Paul Lapstun
18. Shou-Shan Fan
19. Clarence T. Tegreene
20. Alexander Reznicek
21. Sarbajit K. Rakshit
22. Jing Sun
23. Satoshi Seo
24. Kijun Kim
25. Leonard Forbes
26. Edward K. Y. Jung
27. Thomas Edison
28. Suckchel Yang
29. Rick Allen Hamilton II
30. Joonkui Ahn
31. Shan Liu
32. Marta Karczewicz
33. Donald E. Weder
34. George Albert Lyon
35. Michael J. Sullivan
36. Juan Montojo
37. Jordin T. Kare
38. Ruilong Xie
39. Jason K. Resch
40. Jay S. Walker
41. Yunjung Yi
42. John F. O'Connor
43. Jason L. Harris
44. Ahmadreza Rofougaran
45. Tingfang Ji
46. Melvin De Groote
47. Takahiro Nishi
48. David R. Hall
49. Nathan Myhrvold
50. William H. Eby
51. Francis H. Richards
52. Mark Malamud
53. Robert W. Lord
54. Hajime Kimura
55. Royce A. Levien
56. Seungmin Lee
57. Hongyuan Zhang
58. Muriel Y. Ishikawa
59. Michael K. Gschwind
60. Clifford A. Pickover
61. Lee D. Whetsel
62. Chih-Chao Yang
63. Devendra K. Sadana
64. Salman Akram
65. SungDuck Chun
66. Warren M. Farnworth
67. Bruce B. Doris
68. Jeyhan Karaoguz
69. Carleton Ellis
70. Ali Khakifirooz
71. Hsien-Wei Chen
72. John M. Santosuosso
73. Hideo Ando
74. Youngdae Lee
75. Xue Dong
76. Justin T. Mason
77. George Spector
78. Stuart C. Salter
79. Austin L. Gurney
80. Jean-Philippe M. Vasseur
81. Shougo Sato
82. Gregory J. Boss
83. Lisa Seacat DeLuca
84. Tetsujiro Kondo
85. Elihu Thomson
86. Frederick A. Ware
87. Irwin Gerszberg
88. Eric C. Leuthardt
89. Satoshi Nagata
90. Chung-Shi Liu
91. Yan Zhou
92. Paul S. Henry
93. William I. Wood
94. Simon R. Walmsley
95. Jae Hoon Chung
96. Xiaochuan Chen
97. Hui-Ling Lou
98. Edward J. Nowak
99. Woosuk Ko
100. Audrey D. Goddard

• Inventors
• Science-related lists
• Lists of inventors