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List of prolific inventors

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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 6391 2828 44.2% 1972—2024 52.4 122 3.6  Japan Semiconductor Energy Laboratory
Kia Silverbrook 4747 1311 27.6% 1994—2014 20 237 1.6  Australia Silverbrook Research
Tao Luo 3443 2890 83.9% 2006—2024 18.3 188 5.6  USA Qualcomm
Kangguo Cheng 2742 1502 54.8% 2004—2024 19.8 138 3.9  USA IBM
Frederick E. Shelton IV 2383 1124 47.2% 2005—2024 19.2 124 4.5  USA Ethicon
Junyi Li 2199 1865 84.8% 2002—2024 21.8 101 5.2  USA Qualcomm
Peter Gaal 2171 1667 76.8% 2002—2024 22 99 5.9  USA Qualcomm
Wanshi Chen 2050 1585 77.3% 2009—2024 15.3 134 5.7  USA Qualcomm
Lowell L. Wood, Jr. 1995 1325 66.4% 1971—2024 52.8 38 8.8  USA Intellectual Ventures
Roderick A. Hyde 1890 1252 66.2% 2001—2024 23.2 81 8.7  USA Intellectual Ventures
Chen-Hua Yu 1742 940 54.0% 1996—2024 28.3 62 4.9  Taiwan TSMC
Hanbyul Seo 1645 1205 73.3% 2012—2024 12.3 134 3.8  South Korea LG
Xiaoxia Zhang 1628 1411 86.7% 2009—2024 15.6 104 5.5  USA Qualcomm
Esmael H. Dinan 1546 658 42.6% 2006—2024 18.2 85 3.6  USA Ofinno
Jun Koyama 1492 618 41.4% 1991—2024 33.2 45 3.1  Japan Semiconductor Energy Laboratory
Gurtej Singh Sandhu 1427 584 40.9% 1991—2024 33 43 2.5  USA Micron
Jing Sun 1363 1155 84.7% 2012—2024 11.7 116 5.9  USA Qualcomm
Paul Lapstun 1305 246 18.9% 2000—2024 23.8 55 2.5  Australia Silverbrook Research
Shou-Shan Fan 1303 1089 83.6% 2006—2024 18.3 71 4.2  China Hon Hai
Sarbajit K. Rakshit 1289 1073 83.2% 2013—2024 11.6 111 3.4  India IBM
Clarence T. Tegreene 1248 904 72.4% 2000—2024 23.8 52 10.1  USA Intellectual Ventures
Alexander Reznicek 1239 740 59.7% 2006—2024 18.4 67 3.9  USA IBM
Satoshi Seo 1176 559 47.5% 2002—2024 21.7 54 4.1  Japan Semiconductor Energy Laboratory
Suckchel Yang 1161 748 64.4% 2013—2024 11.2 104 4.7  South Korea LG
Shan Liu 1152 773 67.1% 2013—2024 11 105 3.4  USA Tencent
Kijun Kim 1145 795 69.4% 2013—2024 10.7 107 4.6  South Korea LG
Joonkui Ahn 1116 726 65.1% 2013—2024 11.2 100 4.7  South Korea LG
Edward K. Y. Jung 1110 795 71.6% 1996—2024 28.3 39 8.0  USA Intellectual Ventures
Leonard Forbes 1109 411 37.1% 1975—2019 43.3 26 2.6  USA Micron
Thomas Edison 1084 NA NA 1869—1933 63.9 17 1.0  USA Thomas Edison
Juan Montojo 1083 885 81.7% 2004—2024 20.5 53 6.9  USA Qualcomm
Rick Allen Hamilton II 1062 714 67.2% 1999—2024 25 42 4.2  USA IBM
Marta Karczewicz 1056 871 82.5% 2000—2024 23.7 45 4.0  USA Qualcomm
Jason L. Harris 1026 605 59.0% 2011—2024 13.6 75 6.0  USA Ethicon
Ruilong Xie 1020 760 74.5% 2013—2024 11.6 88 4.2  USA IBM
Jason K. Resch 1004 503 50.1% 2009—2024 15 67 4.2  USA IBM
Donald E. Weder 1000 395 39.5% 1978—2015 37.1 27 1.1  USA Weder Family Trust
Michael J. Sullivan 994 535 53.8% 1989—2024 35.2 28 3.8  USA Acushnet Holdings
George Albert Lyon 993 NA NA 1901—1965 64.5 15 1.0  Canada Lyon George Albert
Tingfang Ji 992 737 74.3% 2006—2024 18.1 55 6.9  USA Qualcomm
Jordin T. Kare 989 640 64.7% 1992—2024 31.8 31 9.1  USA Intellectual Ventures
Takahiro Nishi 986 353 35.8% 2001—2024 23 43 6.3  Japan Panasonic
Yunjung Yi 980 694 70.8% 2015—2024 8.8 111 3.3  South Korea LG
Jay S. Walker 979 422 43.1% 1998—2024 26.3 37 5.2  USA Walker Digital
John F. O'Connor 949 NA NA 1901—1935 33.9 28 NA  USA William H. Miner
Ahmadreza Rofougaran 948 459 48.4% 2002—2024 22.1 43 6.4  USA Broadcom
Seungmin Lee 927 680 73.4% 2014—2024 9.9 94 3.5  South Korea LG
Melvin De Groote 925 NA NA 1924—1966 41.8 22 NA  USA Petrolite
David R. Hall 912 756 82.9% 1985—2024 39.2 23 3.8  USA Hall Labs
Nathan Myhrvold 905 613 67.7% 1994—2024 29.7 30 11.1  USA Intellectual Ventures
Hao Xu 904 646 71.5% 2005—2024 19.4 47 4.7  China Qualcomm
William H. Eby 899 895 99.6% 1994—2024 30.2 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
Hajime Kimura 885 279 31.5% 2002—2024 21.8 41 2.6  Japan Semiconductor Energy Laboratory
Robert W. Lord 866 682 78.8% 2003—2024 20.4 42 7.6  USA Intellectual Ventures
Hongyuan Zhang 859 472 54.9% 2009—2024 15.3 56 3.9  USA Marvell
Royce A. Levien 854 666 78.0% 1997—2023 25.9 33 6.8  USA Intellectual Ventures
Muriel Y. Ishikawa 839 560 66.7% 2002—2024 22 38 11.1  USA Intellectual Ventures
Michael K. Gschwind 836 442 52.9% 2001—2024 23.2 36 2.6  USA IBM
Clifford A. Pickover 835 549 65.7% 1992—2024 32.5 26 3.9  USA IBM
Chih-Chao Yang 835 520 62.3% 2003—2024 20.7 40 3.4  USA IBM
Lee D. Whetsel 832 128 15.4% 1991—2024 33.3 25 1.1  USA Texas Instruments
Devendra K. Sadana 811 457 56.4% 1983—2024 41.5 20 4.3  USA IBM
SungDuck Chun 791 483 61.1% 2007—2024 16.7 47 3.8  South Korea LG
Salman Akram 783 290 37.0% 1995—2024 29.1 27 2.9  USA Micron
Youngdae Lee 781 615 78.7% 2014—2024 10.4 75 3.1  South Korea LG
Stuart C. Salter 776 728 93.8% 2009—2024 14.7 53 4.8  USA Ford
Warren M. Farnworth 774 289 37.3% 1990—2020 24.4 32 2.8  USA Micron
Yan Zhou 774 689 89.0% 2012—2024 12 64 4.4  USA Qualcomm
Hsien-Wei Chen 773 381 49.3% 2005—2024 19.5 40 3.5  Taiwan TSMC
James A. Jorasch 770 309 40.1% 1994—2024 29.8 26 3.9  USA Walker Digital
Bruce B. Doris 763 433 56.7% 1995—2023 28.7 27 4.2  USA IBM
Jeyhan Karaoguz 757 371 49.0% 1996—2024 27.5 28 4.6  USA Broadcom
Justin T. Mason 756 752 99.5% 2008—2024 15.8 48 1.0  USA MS Technologies
Carleton Ellis 753 NA NA 1902—1946 43.1 17 NA  USA Ellis Foster Co
Ali Khakifirooz 751 407 54.2% 2011—2024 12.9 58 4.2  USA IBM
Xue Dong 745 728 97.7% 2010—2024 13.7 54 7.4  China BOE
John M. Santosuosso 738 466 63.1% 2001—2024 22.5 33 3.9  USA IBM
Satoshi Nagata 735 698 95.0% 2011—2024 12.9 57 4.0  Japan NTT
Hideo Ando 733 123 16.8% 1983—2020 36.7 20 3.1  Japan Toshiba
George Spector 723 723 100% 1974—1998 24.6 29 2.1  USA George Spector
Jean-Philippe M. Vasseur 722 586 81.2% 2006—2024 18.3 39 2.6  France Cisco Systems
Frederick A. Ware 720 227 31.5% 1981—2024 42.7 17 2.8  USA Rambus
Austin L. Gurney 718 182 25.3% 1999—2021 21.6 33 2.9  USA Genentech
Shougo Sato 718 279 38.9% 1992—2024 31.9 23 1.8  Japan Brother
Kyungmin Park 718 383 53.3% 2014—2024 10.4 69 5.2  USA Ofinno
Gregory J. Boss 709 486 68.5% 2008—2024 16.5 43 4.2  USA IBM
Lisa Seacat DeLuca 708 513 72.5% 2009—2024 15.4 46 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
Chung-Shi Liu 693 377 54.4% 2000—2024 24.6 28 6.1  Taiwan TSMC
Irwin Gerszberg 682 312 45.7% 1994—2024 30.3 23 6.8  USA AT&T
Eric C. Leuthardt 680 459 67.5% 2006—2024 17.8 38 9.1  USA Intellectual Ventures
Woosuk Ko 658 258 39.2% 2015—2024 9.4 70 3.4  South Korea LG
Paul S. Henry 657 301 45.8% 1978—2024 46.3 14 6.3  USA AT&T
Xiaochuan Chen 656 639 97.4% 2014—2024 10.1 65 7.0  China BOE
Aleksandar Damnjanovic 655 481 73.4% 2003—2024 21.1 31 4.4  USA Qualcomm
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

This table is usually updated every Tuesday, and is current as of September 10, 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

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