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] | 6322 | 2800 | 44.3% | 1972—2024 | 52 | 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] | 3102 | 2604 | 83.9% | 2006—2024 | 17.9 | 173 | 5.6 | USA | Qualcomm |
Kangguo Cheng | [4] | 2731 | 1492 | 54.6% | 2004—2024 | 19.5 | 140 | 3.9 | USA | IBM |
Frederick E. Shelton IV | [5] | 2266 | 1086 | 47.9% | 2005—2024 | 18.8 | 121 | 4.5 | USA | Ethicon |
Peter Gaal | [6] | 2051 | 1582 | 77.1% | 2002—2024 | 21.7 | 95 | 5.9 | USA | Qualcomm |
Junyi Li | [7] | 2041 | 1729 | 84.7% | 2002—2024 | 21.4 | 95 | 5.2 | USA | Qualcomm |
Lowell L. Wood, Jr. | [8] | 1992 | 1324 | 66.5% | 1971—2024 | 52.3 | 38 | 8.8 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
Wanshi Chen | [9] | 1938 | 1503 | 77.6% | 2009—2024 | 15 | 129 | 5.7 | USA | Qualcomm |
Roderick A. Hyde | [10] | 1888 | 1252 | 66.3% | 2001—2023 | 22.5 | 84 | 8.7 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
Chen-Hua Yu | [11] | 1687 | 926 | 54.9% | 1996—2024 | 27.9 | 60 | 4.9 | Taiwan | TSMC |
Hanbyul Seo | [12] | 1586 | 1162 | 73.3% | 2012—2024 | 12 | 132 | 3.8 | South Korea | LG |
Xiaoxia Zhang | [13] | 1487 | 1297 | 87.2% | 2009—2024 | 15.2 | 98 | 5.5 | USA | Qualcomm |
Jun Koyama | [14] | 1481 | 618 | 41.7% | 1991—2024 | 32.8 | 45 | 3.1 | Japan | Semiconductor Energy Laboratory |
Gurtej Singh Sandhu | [15] | 1422 | 584 | 41.1% | 1991—2024 | 32.7 | 43 | 2.5 | USA | Micron |
Esmael H. Dinan | [16] | 1416 | 608 | 42.9% | 2006—2024 | 17.8 | 80 | 3.6 | USA | Ofinno |
Paul Lapstun | [17] | 1304 | 246 | 18.9% | 2000—2023 | 23 | 57 | 2.5 | Australia | Silverbrook Research |
Shou-Shan Fan | [18] | 1301 | 1087 | 83.6% | 2006—2024 | 18 | 72 | 4.2 | China | Hon Hai |
Clarence T. Tegreene | [19] | 1245 | 902 | 72.4% | 2000—2024 | 23.1 | 54 | 10.1 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
Jing Sun | [20] | 1239 | 1057 | 85.3% | 2012—2024 | 11.3 | 110 | 5.9 | USA | Qualcomm |
Sarbajit K. Rakshit | [21] | 1238 | 1024 | 82.7% | 2013—2024 | 11.3 | 110 | 3.4 | India | IBM |
Alexander Reznicek | [22] | 1230 | 731 | 59.4% | 2006—2024 | 18 | 68 | 3.9 | USA | IBM |
Satoshi Seo | [23] | 1144 | 547 | 47.8% | 2002—2024 | 21.3 | 54 | 4.1 | Japan | Semiconductor Energy Laboratory |
Kijun Kim | [24] | 1121 | 786 | 70.1% | 2013—2024 | 10.3 | 109 | 4.6 | South Korea | LG |
Leonard Forbes | [25] | 1109 | 411 | 37.1% | 1975—2019 | 43.3 | 26 | 2.6 | USA | Micron |
Edward K. Y. Jung | [26] | 1109 | 794 | 71.6% | 1996—2023 | 27.4 | 40 | 8.0 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
Suckchel Yang | [27] | 1094 | 708 | 64.7% | 2013—2024 | 10.8 | 101 | 4.7 | South Korea | LG |
Thomas Edison | [28] | 1084 | NA | NA | 1869—1933 | 63.9 | 17 | 1.0 | USA | Thomas Edison |
Joonkui Ahn | [29] | 1075 | 698 | 64.9% | 2013—2024 | 10.8 | 100 | 4.7 | South Korea | LG |
Shan Liu | [30] | 1063 | 721 | 67.8% | 2013—2024 | 10.6 | 100 | 3.4 | USA | Tencent |
Rick Allen Hamilton II | [31] | 1062 | 714 | 67.2% | 1999—2024 | 25 | 42 | 4.2 | USA | IBM |
Marta Karczewicz | [32] | 1029 | 852 | 82.8% | 2000—2024 | 23.3 | 44 | 4.0 | USA | Qualcomm |
Juan Montojo | [33] | 1013 | 823 | 81.2% | 2004—2024 | 20.1 | 50 | 6.9 | USA | Qualcomm |
Donald E. Weder | [34] | 1000 | 395 | 39.5% | 1978—2015 | 37.1 | 27 | 1.1 | USA | Weder Family Trust |
Ruilong Xie | [35] | 995 | 739 | 74.3% | 2013—2024 | 11.2 | 89 | 4.2 | USA | IBM |
George Albert Lyon | [36] | 993 | NA | NA | 1901—1965 | 64.5 | 15 | 1.0 | Canada | Lyon George Albert |
Michael J. Sullivan | [37] | 992 | 534 | 53.8% | 1989—2024 | 34.5 | 29 | 3.8 | USA | Acushnet Holdings |
Jordin T. Kare | [38] | 988 | 640 | 64.8% | 1992—2024 | 31.4 | 31 | 9.1 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
Jason K. Resch | [39] | 987 | 497 | 50.4% | 2009—2024 | 14.7 | 67 | 4.2 | USA | IBM |
Jay S. Walker | [40] | 978 | 421 | 43.0% | 1998—2024 | 25.8 | 38 | 5.2 | USA | Walker Digital |
Jason L. Harris | [41] | 965 | 582 | 60.3% | 2011—2024 | 13.3 | 73 | 6.0 | USA | Ethicon |
Yunjung Yi | [42] | 963 | 684 | 71.0% | 2015—2024 | 8.4 | 115 | 3.3 | South Korea | LG |
Tingfang Ji | [43] | 951 | 705 | 74.1% | 2006—2024 | 17.7 | 54 | 6.9 | USA | Qualcomm |
John F. O'Connor | [44] | 949 | NA | NA | 1901—1935 | 33.9 | 28 | NA | USA | William H. Miner |
Ahmadreza Rofougaran | [45] | 942 | 458 | 48.6% | 2002—2024 | 21.8 | 43 | 6.4 | USA | Broadcom |
Melvin De Groote | [46] | 925 | NA | NA | 1924—1966 | 41.8 | 22 | NA | USA | Petrolite |
Takahiro Nishi | [47] | 924 | 336 | 36.4% | 2001—2024 | 22.6 | 41 | 6.3 | Japan | Panasonic |
David R. Hall | [48] | 906 | 751 | 82.9% | 1985—2024 | 38.8 | 23 | 3.8 | USA | Hall Labs |
Nathan Myhrvold | [49] | 904 | 612 | 67.7% | 1994—2023 | 29.1 | 31 | 11.1 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
William H. Eby | [50] | 898 | 894 | 99.6% | 1994—2024 | 29.7 | 30 | 1.2 | USA | Monsanto |
Francis H. Richards | [51] | 894 | NA | NA | 1899—1930 | 30.8 | 29 | NA | USA | Francis H. Richards |
Mark Malamud | [52] | 885 | 690 | 78.0% | 1997—2023 | 25.9 | 34 | 7.5 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
Hao Xu | [53] | 879 | 631 | 71.8% | 2005—2024 | 19 | 46 | 4.7 | China | Qualcomm |
Hajime Kimura | [54] | 869 | 278 | 32.0% | 2002—2024 | 21.4 | 41 | 2.6 | Japan | Semiconductor Energy Laboratory |
Seungmin Lee | [55] | 866 | 634 | 73.2% | 2014—2024 | 9.5 | 91 | 3.5 | South Korea | LG |
Robert W. Lord | [56] | 865 | 681 | 78.7% | 2003—2023 | 19.4 | 45 | 7.6 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
Royce A. Levien | [57] | 854 | 666 | 78.0% | 1997—2023 | 25.9 | 33 | 6.8 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
Hongyuan Zhang | [58] | 844 | 467 | 55.3% | 2009—2024 | 14.9 | 57 | 3.9 | USA | Marvell |
Muriel Y. Ishikawa | [59] | 838 | 560 | 66.8% | 2002—2023 | 21.2 | 40 | 11.1 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
Michael K. Gschwind | [60] | 834 | 442 | 53.0% | 2001—2023 | 22 | 38 | 2.6 | USA | IBM |
Clifford A. Pickover | [61] | 829 | 546 | 65.9% | 1992—2024 | 31.8 | 26 | 3.9 | USA | IBM |
Lee D. Whetsel | [62] | 828 | 129 | 15.6% | 1991—2024 | 33 | 25 | 1.1 | USA | Texas Instruments |
Chih-Chao Yang | [63] | 827 | 513 | 62.0% | 2003—2024 | 20.3 | 41 | 3.4 | USA | IBM |
Devendra K. Sadana | [64] | 806 | 455 | 56.5% | 1983—2024 | 41.2 | 20 | 4.3 | USA | IBM |
SungDuck Chun | [65] | 784 | 477 | 60.8% | 2007—2024 | 16.4 | 48 | 3.8 | South Korea | LG |
Salman Akram | [66] | 782 | 290 | 37.1% | 1995—2024 | 28.6 | 27 | 2.9 | USA | Micron |
Warren M. Farnworth | [67] | 774 | 289 | 37.3% | 1990—2020 | 24.4 | 32 | 2.8 | USA | Micron |
Bruce B. Doris | [68] | 763 | 433 | 56.7% | 1995—2023 | 28.7 | 27 | 4.2 | USA | IBM |
Jeyhan Karaoguz | [69] | 757 | 371 | 49.0% | 1996—2024 | 27.5 | 28 | 4.6 | USA | Broadcom |
Carleton Ellis | [70] | 753 | NA | NA | 1902—1946 | 43.1 | 17 | NA | USA | Ellis Foster Co |
Ali Khakifirooz | [71] | 749 | 405 | 54.1% | 2011—2023 | 12 | 62 | 4.2 | USA | IBM |
Hsien-Wei Chen | [72] | 748 | 377 | 50.4% | 2005—2024 | 19.1 | 39 | 3.5 | Taiwan | TSMC |
Stuart C. Salter | [73] | 742 | 697 | 93.9% | 2009—2024 | 14.3 | 52 | 4.8 | USA | Ford |
John M. Santosuosso | [74] | 738 | 466 | 63.1% | 2001—2024 | 22.5 | 33 | 3.9 | USA | IBM |
Youngdae Lee | [75] | 738 | 579 | 78.5% | 2014—2024 | 10 | 74 | 3.1 | South Korea | LG |
Justin T. Mason | [76] | 735 | 731 | 99.5% | 2008—2024 | 15.4 | 48 | 1.0 | USA | MS Technologies |
Hideo Ando | [77] | 733 | 123 | 16.8% | 1983—2020 | 36.7 | 20 | 3.1 | Japan | Toshiba |
Xue Dong | [78] | 730 | 714 | 97.8% | 2010—2024 | 13.3 | 55 | 7.4 | China | BOE |
George Spector | [79] | 723 | 723 | 100% | 1974—1998 | 24.6 | 29 | 2.1 | USA | George Spector |
Austin L. Gurney | [80] | 718 | 182 | 25.3% | 1999—2021 | 21.6 | 33 | 2.9 | USA | Genentech |
Shougo Sato | [81] | 709 | 280 | 39.5% | 1992—2024 | 31.5 | 23 | 1.8 | Japan | Brother |
Jean-Philippe M. Vasseur | [82] | 707 | 572 | 80.9% | 2006—2024 | 17.8 | 40 | 2.6 | France | Cisco Systems |
Lisa Seacat DeLuca | [83] | 705 | 512 | 72.6% | 2009—2024 | 15.2 | 46 | 2.7 | USA | IBM |
Gregory J. Boss | [84] | 704 | 481 | 68.3% | 2008—2024 | 16 | 44 | 4.2 | USA | IBM |
Frederick A. Ware | [85] | 703 | 223 | 31.7% | 1981—2024 | 42.4 | 17 | 2.8 | USA | Rambus |
Tetsujiro Kondo | [86] | 700 | 528 | 75.4% | 1987—2021 | 34 | 21 | 3.8 | Japan | Sony |
Elihu Thomson | [87] | 696 | NA | NA | 1899—1935 | 35.9 | 19 | NA | USA | GE |
Yan Zhou | [88] | 683 | 612 | 89.6% | 2012—2024 | 11.6 | 59 | 4.4 | USA | Qualcomm |
Satoshi Nagata | [89] | 681 | 647 | 95.0% | 2011—2024 | 12.5 | 54 | 4.0 | Japan | NTT |
Irwin Gerszberg | [90] | 680 | 312 | 45.9% | 1994—2023 | 29.2 | 23 | 6.8 | USA | AT&T |
Eric C. Leuthardt | [91] | 675 | 457 | 67.7% | 2006—2024 | 17.4 | 39 | 9.1 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
Chung-Shi Liu | [92] | 674 | 374 | 55.5% | 2000—2024 | 24.2 | 28 | 6.1 | Taiwan | TSMC |
Paul S. Henry | [93] | 656 | 301 | 45.9% | 1978—2023 | 44.9 | 15 | 6.3 | USA | AT&T |
William I. Wood | [94] | 653 | 259 | 39.7% | 1981—2013 | 32.2 | 20 | 5.2 | USA | Genentech |
Simon R. Walmsley | [95] | 651 | 171 | 26.3% | 1995—2012 | 17.2 | 38 | 3.2 | Australia | Silverbrook Research |
Jae Hoon Chung | [96] | 650 | 381 | 58.6% | 2010—2023 | 13 | 50 | 4.5 | South Korea | LG |
Woosuk Ko | [97] | 644 | 247 | 38.4% | 2015—2024 | 9 | 72 | 3.4 | South Korea | LG |
Xiaochuan Chen | [98] | 642 | 629 | 98.0% | 2014—2024 | 9.7 | 66 | 7.0 | China | BOE |
Hui-Ling Lou | [99] | 638 | 343 | 53.8% | 1997—2024 | 26.6 | 24 | 3.9 | USA | Marvell |
Aleksandar Damnjanovic | [100] | 637 | 468 | 73.5% | 2003—2024 | 20.7 | 31 | 4.4 | USA | Qualcomm |
This table is usually updated every Tuesday, and is current as of April 23, 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