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List of prolific inventors

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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

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Inventor Pats Fams Fam % Pat Yrs Yrs Pat /Yr Inv /Pat Pat Residence Majority Assignment
Shunpei Yamazaki [1] 6663 2931 44.0% 1972—2026 53.8 124 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] 4460 3722 83.5% 2006—2026 19.7 226 5.6 USA Qualcomm
Kangguo Cheng [4] 2849 1583 55.6% 2004—2026 21.3 134 3.9 USA IBM
Junyi Li [5] 2744 2319 84.5% 2002—2026 23.3 118 5.2 USA Qualcomm
Frederick E. Shelton IV [6] 2688 1226 45.6% 2005—2026 20.6 130 4.5 USA Ethicon
Peter Gaal [7] 2569 1980 77.1% 2002—2026 23.5 109 5.9 USA Qualcomm
Wanshi Chen [8] 2357 1809 76.8% 2009—2026 16.8 140 5.7 USA Qualcomm
Xiaoxia Zhang [9] 2196 1865 84.9% 2009—2026 17.1 128 5.5 USA Qualcomm
Lowell L. Wood, Jr. [10] 2001 1328 66.4% 1971—2026 54.3 37 8.8 USA Intellectual Ventures
Esmael H. Dinan [11] 1993 811 40.7% 2006—2026 19.6 102 3.6 USA Ofinno
Chen-Hua Yu [12] 1925 1001 52.0% 1996—2026 29.7 65 4.9 Taiwan TSMC
Roderick A. Hyde [13] 1892 1252 66.2% 2001—2023 22.4 84 8.7 USA Intellectual Ventures
Jing Sun [14] 1820 1527 83.9% 2012—2026 13.1 139 5.9 USA Qualcomm
Hanbyul Seo [15] 1805 1347 74.6% 2012—2026 13.7 132 3.8 South Korea LG
Shan Liu [16] 1663 1065 64.0% 2013—2026 12.4 134 3.4 USA Tencent
Sarbajit K. Rakshit [17] 1536 1309 85.2% 2013—2026 13.1 117 3.4 India IBM
Jun Koyama [18] 1512 618 40.9% 1991—2022 30.8 49 3.1 Japan Semiconductor Energy Laboratory
Gurtej Singh Sandhu [19] 1433 584 40.8% 1991—2024 32.5 44 2.5 USA Micron
Yunjung Yi [20] 1413 953 67.4% 2011—2026 15.1 94 3.3 USA LG
Shou-Shan Fan [21] 1316 1101 83.7% 2006—2026 19.7 67 4.2 China Hon Hai
Paul Lapstun [22] 1306 247 18.9% 2000—2026 25.2 52 2.5 Australia Silverbrook Research
Alexander Reznicek [23] 1297 790 60.9% 2006—2026 19.8 66 3.9 USA IBM
Suckchel Yang [24] 1289 838 65.0% 2013—2026 12.6 102 4.7 South Korea LG
Satoshi Seo [25] 1267 602 47.5% 2002—2026 23.2 55 4.1 Japan Semiconductor Energy Laboratory
Juan Montojo [26] 1263 1025 81.2% 2004—2026 22 57 6.9 USA Qualcomm
Clarence T. Tegreene [27] 1251 904 72.3% 2000—2025 24.8 50 10.1 USA Intellectual Ventures
Ruilong Xie [28] 1229 957 77.9% 2013—2026 13 95 4.2 USA IBM
Takahiro Nishi [29] 1197 392 32.7% 2001—2026 24.4 49 6.3 Japan Panasonic
Jason L. Harris [30] 1193 662 55.5% 2011—2026 15.1 79 6.0 USA Ethicon
Kijun Kim [31] 1182 821 69.5% 2013—2026 12.1 98 4.6 South Korea LG
Joonkui Ahn [32] 1175 763 64.9% 2013—2026 12.5 94 4.7 South Korea LG
Marta Karczewicz [33] 1160 954 82.2% 2000—2026 25.1 46 4.0 USA Qualcomm
Yan Zhou [34] 1133 998 88.1% 2012—2026 13.4 85 4.4 USA Qualcomm
Tingfang Ji [35] 1112 822 73.9% 2006—2026 19.5 57 6.9 USA Qualcomm
Edward K. Y. Jung [36] 1111 794 71.5% 1996—2022 26.1 43 8.0 USA Intellectual Ventures
Leonard Forbes [37] 1109 411 37.1% 1975—2019 43.3 26 2.6 USA Micron
Thomas Edison [38] 1084 NA NA 1869—1933 63.9 17 1.0 USA Thomas Edison
Seungmin Lee [39] 1081 814 75.3% 2014—2026 11.3 96 3.5 South Korea LG
Rick Allen Hamilton II [40] 1064 715 67.2% 1999—2025 26.5 40 4.2 USA IBM
Jason K. Resch [41] 1061 513 48.4% 2009—2025 15.7 68 4.2 USA IBM
Hao Xu [42] 1049 776 74.0% 2005—2026 20.8 50 4.7 China Qualcomm
Ahmadreza Rofougaran [43] 1003 482 48.1% 2002—2026 23.6 42 6.4 USA Broadcom
Donald E. Weder [44] 1000 395 39.5% 1978—2015 37.1 27 1.1 USA Weder Family Trust
Michael J. Sullivan [45] 997 534 53.6% 1989—2024 34.5 29 3.8 USA Acushnet Holdings
George Albert Lyon [46] 993 NA NA 1901—1965 64.5 15 1.0 Canada Lyon George Albert
Jordin T. Kare [47] 993 640 64.5% 1992—2023 30.5 33 9.1 USA Intellectual Ventures
Jay S. Walker [48] 980 422 43.1% 1998—2024 26.3 37 5.2 USA Walker Digital
John F. O'Connor [49] 949 NA NA 1901—1935 33.9 28 NA USA William H. Miner
Hajime Kimura [50] 949 304 32.0% 2002—2026 23.2 41 2.6 Japan Semiconductor Energy Laboratory
Satoshi Nagata [51] 942 905 96.1% 2011—2026 14.3 66 4.0 Japan NTT
Kyungmin Park [52] 935 438 46.8% 2014—2026 11.8 79 5.2 USA Ofinno
William H. Eby [53] 933 929 99.6% 1994—2025 31.6 30 1.2 USA Monsanto
Justin T. Mason [54] 929 925 99.6% 2008—2026 17.2 54 1.0 USA MS Technologies
Melvin De Groote [55] 925 NA NA 1924—1966 41.8 22 NA USA Petrolite
David R. Hall [56] 924 765 82.8% 1985—2026 40.5 23 3.8 USA Hall Labs
Hongyuan Zhang [57] 912 495 54.3% 2009—2026 16.8 54 3.9 USA Marvell
Nathan Myhrvold [58] 908 614 67.6% 1994—2025 31 29 11.1 USA Intellectual Ventures
Hua Zhou [59] 896 465 51.9% 2012—2026 14 64 5.5 USA Ofinno
Francis H. Richards [60] 894 NA NA 1899—1930 30.8 29 NA USA Francis H. Richards
Mark Malamud [61] 886 690 77.9% 1997—2022 25.1 35 7.5 USA Intellectual Ventures
Chih-Chao Yang [62] 886 568 64.1% 2003—2026 22.1 40 3.4 USA IBM
Stuart C. Salter [63] 881 827 93.9% 2009—2026 16.1 55 4.8 USA Ford
Robert W. Lord [64] 869 683 78.6% 2003—2025 21.6 40 7.6 USA Intellectual Ventures
Hsien-Wei Chen [65] 863 397 46.0% 2005—2026 20.9 41 3.5 Taiwan TSMC
Royce A. Levien [66] 855 666 77.9% 1997—2020 23.4 37 6.8 USA Intellectual Ventures
Lee D. Whetsel [67] 850 128 15.1% 1991—2017 26.4 32 1.1 USA Texas Instruments
Youngdae Lee [68] 844 667 79.0% 2014—2026 11.8 72 3.1 South Korea LG
Muriel Y. Ishikawa [69] 840 560 66.7% 2002—2023 21.2 40 11.1 USA Intellectual Ventures
Michael K. Gschwind [70] 836 442 52.9% 2001—2021 20.6 41 2.6 USA IBM
Clifford A. Pickover [71] 836 548 65.6% 1992—2024 32.2 26 3.9 USA IBM
SungDuck Chun [72] 830 517 62.3% 2007—2026 18.1 46 3.8 South Korea LG
Devendra K. Sadana [73] 827 470 56.8% 1983—2025 42.6 19 4.3 USA IBM
Xue Dong [74] 803 776 96.6% 2010—2026 15.1 53 7.4 China BOE
Salman A. Akram [75] 788 293 37.2% 1995—2025 30.3 26 2.9 USA Micron
Frederick A. Ware [76] 780 233 29.9% 1981—2026 44.2 18 2.8 USA Rambus
Warren M. Farnworth [77] 774 289 37.3% 1990—2014 24.4 32 2.8 USA Micron
James A. Jorasch [78] 774 309 39.9% 1994—2023 29 27 3.9 USA Walker Digital
Bruce B. Doris [79] 767 435 56.7% 1995—2025 30.3 25 4.2 USA IBM
Shougo Sato [80] 765 292 38.2% 1992—2025 33 23 1.8 Japan Brother
Toshiyasu Sugio [81] 760 280 36.8% 2009—2026 16.3 47 4.9 Japan Panasonic
Jean-Philippe M. Vasseur [82] 760 617 81.2% 2006—2026 19.8 38 2.6 France Cisco Systems
Ali Khakifirooz [83] 759 415 54.7% 2011—2026 14.4 53 4.2 USA IBM
Jeyhan Karaoguz [84] 757 371 49.0% 1996—2020 23.8 32 4.6 USA Broadcom
Carleton Ellis [85] 753 NA NA 1902—1946 43.1 17 NA USA Ellis Foster Co
Chung-Shi Liu [86] 748 394 52.7% 2000—2025 25.9 29 6.1 Taiwan TSMC
Jonghyun Park [87] 739 526 71.2% 2013—2026 13 57 3.8 USA LG
John M. Santosuosso [88] 738 466 63.1% 2001—2022 20.7 36 3.9 USA IBM
Hideo Ando [89] 733 123 16.8% 1983—2020 36.7 20 3.1 Japan Toshiba
Hyoungsuk Jeon [90] 729 340 46.6% 2009—2026 16.2 45 5.6 USA Ofinno
George Spector [91] 723 723 100% 1974—1998 24.6 29 2.1 USA George Spector
Lisa Seacat DeLuca [92] 723 527 72.9% 2009—2025 16.9 43 2.7 USA IBM
Gregory J. Boss [93] 720 496 68.9% 2008—2026 17.9 40 4.2 USA IBM
Austin L. Gurney [94] 718 182 25.3% 1999—2021 21.6 33 2.9 USA Genentech
Woosuk Ko [95] 716 313 43.7% 2015—2026 10.8 66 3.4 South Korea LG
Xiaochuan Chen [96] 705 682 96.7% 2014—2026 11.6 61 7.0 China BOE
Tetsujiro Kondo [97] 700 528 75.4% 1987—2021 34 21 3.8 Japan Sony
Elihu Thomson [98] 696 NA NA 1899—1935 35.9 19 NA USA GE
Eric C. Leuthardt [99] 693 467 67.4% 2006—2026 19.2 36 9.1 USA Intellectual Ventures
Moon-il Lee [100] 693 377 54.4% 2010—2026 15.2 46 5.3 USA LG

This table is usually updated every Tuesday, and is current as of February 17, 2026.

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 [Fams column divided by Pats column, rounded to first decimal as a percentage]. "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 [Pats column divided by Yrs column, rounded].
  • 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

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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

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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.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

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References

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  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

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