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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.
Inventor | Pats | Fams | Fam % | Pat Yrs | Yrs | Pat /Yr | Inv /Pat | Pat Residence | Majority Assignment | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Shunpei Yamazaki | [1] | 6402 | 2834 | 44.3% | 1972—2024 | 52.5 | 122 | 3.6 | Japan | Semiconductor Energy Laboratory |
Kia Silverbrook | [2] | 4747 | 1311 | 27.6% | 1994—2014 | 20 | 237 | 1.6 | Australia | Silverbrook Research |
Tao Luo | [3] | 3473 | 2916 | 84.0% | 2006—2024 | 18.3 | 190 | 5.6 | USA | Qualcomm |
Kangguo Cheng | [4] | 2748 | 1508 | 54.9% | 2004—2024 | 19.9 | 138 | 3.9 | USA | IBM |
Frederick E. Shelton IV | [5] | 2397 | 1128 | 47.1% | 2005—2024 | 19.2 | 125 | 4.5 | USA | Ethicon |
Junyi Li | [6] | 2220 | 1884 | 84.9% | 2002—2024 | 21.9 | 101 | 5.2 | USA | Qualcomm |
Peter Gaal | [7] | 2189 | 1683 | 76.9% | 2002—2024 | 22.1 | 99 | 5.9 | USA | Qualcomm |
Wanshi Chen | [8] | 2057 | 1590 | 77.3% | 2009—2024 | 15.4 | 134 | 5.7 | USA | Qualcomm |
Lowell L. Wood, Jr. | [9] | 1996 | 1326 | 66.4% | 1971—2024 | 52.9 | 38 | 8.8 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
Roderick A. Hyde | [10] | 1890 | 1252 | 66.2% | 2001—2024 | 23.2 | 81 | 8.7 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
Chen-Hua Yu | [11] | 1749 | 943 | 53.9% | 1996—2024 | 28.3 | 62 | 4.9 | Taiwan | TSMC |
Hanbyul Seo | [12] | 1653 | 1211 | 73.3% | 2012—2024 | 12.4 | 133 | 3.8 | South Korea | LG |
Xiaoxia Zhang | [13] | 1644 | 1426 | 86.7% | 2009—2024 | 15.7 | 105 | 5.5 | USA | Qualcomm |
Esmael H. Dinan | [14] | 1579 | 672 | 42.6% | 2006—2024 | 18.3 | 86 | 3.6 | USA | Ofinno |
Jun Koyama | [15] | 1493 | 618 | 41.4% | 1991—2024 | 33.2 | 45 | 3.1 | Japan | Semiconductor Energy Laboratory |
Gurtej Singh Sandhu | [16] | 1427 | 584 | 40.9% | 1991—2024 | 33 | 43 | 2.5 | USA | Micron |
Jing Sun | [17] | 1377 | 1167 | 84.7% | 2012—2024 | 11.8 | 117 | 5.9 | USA | Qualcomm |
Sarbajit K. Rakshit | [18] | 1307 | 1090 | 83.4% | 2013—2024 | 11.7 | 112 | 3.4 | India | IBM |
Paul Lapstun | [19] | 1305 | 246 | 18.9% | 2000—2024 | 23.8 | 55 | 2.5 | Australia | Silverbrook Research |
Shou-Shan Fan | [20] | 1304 | 1090 | 83.6% | 2006—2024 | 18.4 | 71 | 4.2 | China | Hon Hai |
Clarence T. Tegreene | [21] | 1248 | 903 | 72.4% | 2000—2024 | 23.8 | 52 | 10.1 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
Alexander Reznicek | [22] | 1243 | 742 | 59.7% | 2006—2024 | 18.4 | 68 | 3.9 | USA | IBM |
Satoshi Seo | [23] | 1182 | 561 | 47.5% | 2002—2024 | 21.8 | 54 | 4.1 | Japan | Semiconductor Energy Laboratory |
Shan Liu | [24] | 1174 | 781 | 66.5% | 2013—2024 | 11 | 107 | 3.4 | USA | Tencent |
Suckchel Yang | [25] | 1169 | 755 | 64.6% | 2013—2024 | 11.2 | 104 | 4.7 | South Korea | LG |
Kijun Kim | [26] | 1148 | 798 | 69.5% | 2013—2024 | 10.8 | 106 | 4.6 | South Korea | LG |
Joonkui Ahn | [27] | 1119 | 728 | 65.1% | 2013—2024 | 11.2 | 100 | 4.7 | South Korea | LG |
Edward K. Y. Jung | [28] | 1111 | 795 | 71.6% | 1996—2024 | 28.4 | 39 | 8.0 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
Leonard Forbes | [29] | 1109 | 411 | 37.1% | 1975—2019 | 43.3 | 26 | 2.6 | USA | Micron |
Juan Montojo | [30] | 1092 | 893 | 81.8% | 2004—2024 | 20.6 | 53 | 6.9 | USA | Qualcomm |
Thomas Edison | [31] | 1084 | NA | NA | 1869—1933 | 63.9 | 17 | 1.0 | USA | Thomas Edison |
Rick Allen Hamilton II | [32] | 1062 | 714 | 67.2% | 1999—2024 | 25 | 42 | 4.2 | USA | IBM |
Marta Karczewicz | [33] | 1057 | 871 | 82.4% | 2000—2024 | 23.7 | 45 | 4.0 | USA | Qualcomm |
Jason L. Harris | [34] | 1033 | 606 | 58.7% | 2011—2024 | 13.7 | 75 | 6.0 | USA | Ethicon |
Ruilong Xie | [35] | 1028 | 767 | 74.6% | 2013—2024 | 11.7 | 88 | 4.2 | USA | IBM |
Jason K. Resch | [36] | 1006 | 503 | 50.0% | 2009—2024 | 15.1 | 67 | 4.2 | USA | IBM |
Donald E. Weder | [37] | 1000 | 395 | 39.5% | 1978—2015 | 37.1 | 27 | 1.1 | USA | Weder Family Trust |
Takahiro Nishi | [38] | 998 | 357 | 35.8% | 2001—2024 | 23.1 | 43 | 6.3 | Japan | Panasonic |
Michael J. Sullivan | [39] | 994 | 534 | 53.7% | 1989—2024 | 35.2 | 28 | 3.8 | USA | Acushnet Holdings |
George Albert Lyon | [40] | 993 | NA | NA | 1901—1965 | 64.5 | 15 | 1.0 | Canada | Lyon George Albert |
Tingfang Ji | [41] | 992 | 736 | 74.2% | 2006—2024 | 18.1 | 55 | 6.9 | USA | Qualcomm |
Jordin T. Kare | [42] | 989 | 640 | 64.7% | 1992—2024 | 31.8 | 31 | 9.1 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
Yunjung Yi | [43] | 981 | 694 | 70.7% | 2015—2024 | 8.8 | 111 | 3.3 | South Korea | LG |
Jay S. Walker | [44] | 979 | 422 | 43.1% | 1998—2024 | 26.3 | 37 | 5.2 | USA | Walker Digital |
Ahmadreza Rofougaran | [45] | 950 | 459 | 48.3% | 2002—2024 | 22.2 | 43 | 6.4 | USA | Broadcom |
John F. O'Connor | [46] | 949 | NA | NA | 1901—1935 | 33.9 | 28 | NA | USA | William H. Miner |
Seungmin Lee | [47] | 934 | 685 | 73.3% | 2014—2024 | 9.9 | 94 | 3.5 | South Korea | LG |
Melvin De Groote | [48] | 925 | NA | NA | 1924—1966 | 41.8 | 22 | NA | USA | Petrolite |
David R. Hall | [49] | 913 | 757 | 82.9% | 1985—2024 | 39.2 | 23 | 3.8 | USA | Hall Labs |
Hao Xu | [50] | 906 | 647 | 71.4% | 2005—2024 | 19.4 | 47 | 4.7 | China | Qualcomm |
Nathan Myhrvold | [51] | 905 | 613 | 67.7% | 1994—2024 | 29.7 | 30 | 11.1 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
William H. Eby | [52] | 899 | 895 | 99.6% | 1994—2024 | 30.2 | 30 | 1.2 | USA | Monsanto |
Francis H. Richards | [53] | 894 | NA | NA | 1899—1930 | 30.8 | 29 | NA | USA | Francis H. Richards |
Hajime Kimura | [54] | 887 | 279 | 31.5% | 2002—2024 | 21.8 | 41 | 2.6 | Japan | Semiconductor Energy Laboratory |
Mark Malamud | [55] | 886 | 691 | 78.0% | 1997—2024 | 27.3 | 32 | 7.5 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
Robert W. Lord | [56] | 867 | 683 | 78.8% | 2003—2024 | 20.7 | 42 | 7.6 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
Hongyuan Zhang | [57] | 860 | 473 | 55.0% | 2009—2024 | 15.4 | 56 | 3.9 | USA | Marvell |
Royce A. Levien | [58] | 855 | 667 | 78.0% | 1997—2024 | 27.3 | 31 | 6.8 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
Muriel Y. Ishikawa | [59] | 839 | 560 | 66.7% | 2002—2024 | 22 | 38 | 11.1 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
Chih-Chao Yang | [60] | 837 | 521 | 62.2% | 2003—2024 | 20.8 | 40 | 3.4 | USA | IBM |
Michael K. Gschwind | [61] | 836 | 442 | 52.9% | 2001—2024 | 23.2 | 36 | 2.6 | USA | IBM |
Clifford A. Pickover | [62] | 835 | 548 | 65.6% | 1992—2024 | 32.5 | 26 | 3.9 | USA | IBM |
Lee D. Whetsel | [63] | 833 | 128 | 15.4% | 1991—2024 | 33.4 | 25 | 1.1 | USA | Texas Instruments |
Devendra K. Sadana | [64] | 812 | 457 | 56.3% | 1983—2024 | 41.6 | 20 | 4.3 | USA | IBM |
SungDuck Chun | [65] | 793 | 485 | 61.2% | 2007—2024 | 16.8 | 47 | 3.8 | South Korea | LG |
Youngdae Lee | [66] | 787 | 619 | 78.7% | 2014—2024 | 10.5 | 75 | 3.1 | South Korea | LG |
Stuart C. Salter | [67] | 786 | 738 | 93.9% | 2009—2024 | 14.8 | 53 | 4.8 | USA | Ford |
Yan Zhou | [68] | 784 | 697 | 88.9% | 2012—2024 | 12.1 | 65 | 4.4 | USA | Qualcomm |
Salman Akram | [69] | 783 | 290 | 37.0% | 1995—2024 | 29.1 | 27 | 2.9 | USA | Micron |
Warren M. Farnworth | [70] | 774 | 289 | 37.3% | 1990—2020 | 24.4 | 32 | 2.8 | USA | Micron |
Hsien-Wei Chen | [71] | 773 | 380 | 49.2% | 2005—2024 | 19.5 | 40 | 3.5 | Taiwan | TSMC |
James A. Jorasch | [72] | 770 | 309 | 40.1% | 1994—2024 | 29.8 | 26 | 3.9 | USA | Walker Digital |
Bruce B. Doris | [73] | 763 | 433 | 56.7% | 1995—2023 | 28.7 | 27 | 4.2 | USA | IBM |
Justin T. Mason | [74] | 758 | 754 | 99.5% | 2008—2024 | 15.8 | 48 | 1.0 | USA | MS Technologies |
Jeyhan Karaoguz | [75] | 757 | 371 | 49.0% | 1996—2024 | 27.5 | 28 | 4.6 | USA | Broadcom |
Carleton Ellis | [76] | 753 | NA | NA | 1902—1946 | 43.1 | 17 | NA | USA | Ellis Foster Co |
Ali Khakifirooz | [77] | 751 | 407 | 54.2% | 2011—2024 | 12.9 | 58 | 4.2 | USA | IBM |
Xue Dong | [78] | 747 | 730 | 97.7% | 2010—2024 | 13.7 | 55 | 7.4 | China | BOE |
Satoshi Nagata | [79] | 745 | 708 | 95.0% | 2011—2024 | 13 | 57 | 4.0 | Japan | NTT |
John M. Santosuosso | [80] | 738 | 466 | 63.1% | 2001—2024 | 22.5 | 33 | 3.9 | USA | IBM |
Hideo Ando | [81] | 733 | 123 | 16.8% | 1983—2020 | 36.7 | 20 | 3.1 | Japan | Toshiba |
Kyungmin Park | [82] | 733 | 388 | 52.9% | 2014—2024 | 10.4 | 70 | 5.2 | USA | Ofinno |
George Spector | [83] | 723 | 723 | 100% | 1974—1998 | 24.6 | 29 | 2.1 | USA | George Spector |
Jean-Philippe M. Vasseur | [84] | 723 | 587 | 81.2% | 2006—2024 | 18.4 | 39 | 2.6 | France | Cisco Systems |
Frederick A. Ware | [85] | 722 | 227 | 31.4% | 1981—2024 | 42.8 | 17 | 2.8 | USA | Rambus |
Shougo Sato | [86] | 719 | 280 | 38.9% | 1992—2024 | 32 | 22 | 1.8 | Japan | Brother |
Austin L. Gurney | [87] | 718 | 182 | 25.3% | 1999—2021 | 21.6 | 33 | 2.9 | USA | Genentech |
Lisa Seacat DeLuca | [88] | 711 | 515 | 72.4% | 2009—2024 | 15.6 | 46 | 2.7 | USA | IBM |
Gregory J. Boss | [89] | 709 | 486 | 68.5% | 2008—2024 | 16.5 | 43 | 4.2 | USA | IBM |
Tetsujiro Kondo | [90] | 700 | 528 | 75.4% | 1987—2021 | 34 | 21 | 3.8 | Japan | Sony |
Elihu Thomson | [91] | 696 | NA | NA | 1899—1935 | 35.9 | 19 | NA | USA | GE |
Chung-Shi Liu | [92] | 696 | 380 | 54.6% | 2000—2024 | 24.7 | 28 | 6.1 | Taiwan | TSMC |
Irwin Gerszberg | [93] | 682 | 312 | 45.7% | 1994—2024 | 30.3 | 23 | 6.8 | USA | AT&T |
Eric C. Leuthardt | [94] | 680 | 459 | 67.5% | 2006—2024 | 17.8 | 38 | 9.1 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
Woosuk Ko | [95] | 662 | 262 | 39.6% | 2015—2024 | 9.4 | 70 | 3.4 | South Korea | LG |
Hua Zhou | [96] | 662 | 383 | 57.9% | 2012—2024 | 12.6 | 53 | 5.5 | USA | Fujitsu |
Xiaochuan Chen | [97] | 658 | 641 | 97.4% | 2014—2024 | 10.2 | 65 | 7.0 | China | BOE |
Paul S. Henry | [98] | 657 | 301 | 45.8% | 1978—2024 | 46.3 | 14 | 6.3 | USA | AT&T |
Aleksandar Damnjanovic | [99] | 656 | 482 | 73.5% | 2003—2024 | 21.1 | 31 | 4.4 | USA | Qualcomm |
William I. Wood | [100] | 653 | 259 | 39.7% | 1981—2013 | 32.2 | 20 | 5.2 | USA | Genentech |
This table is usually updated every Tuesday, and is current as of October 1, 2024[update].
The columns are defined as follows:
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.
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.[Info 1] 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
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