List of prolific inventors

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]	6359	2814	44.3%	1972—2024	52.3	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]	3333	2799	84.0%	2006—2024	18.2	183	5.6	USA	Qualcomm
Kangguo Cheng	[4]	2739	1499	54.7%	2004—2024	19.7	139	3.9	USA	IBM
Frederick E. Shelton IV	[5]	2350	1111	47.3%	2005—2024	19.1	123	4.5	USA	Ethicon
Junyi Li	[6]	2153	1825	84.8%	2002—2024	21.7	99	5.2	USA	Qualcomm
Peter Gaal	[7]	2127	1638	77.0%	2002—2024	21.9	97	5.9	USA	Qualcomm
Wanshi Chen	[8]	2014	1558	77.4%	2009—2024	15.2	132	5.7	USA	Qualcomm
Lowell L. Wood, Jr.	[9]	1995	1325	66.4%	1971—2024	52.8	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]	1721	935	54.3%	1996—2024	28.1	61	4.9	Taiwan	TSMC
Hanbyul Seo	[12]	1619	1182	73.0%	2012—2024	12.2	133	3.8	South Korea	LG
Xiaoxia Zhang	[13]	1579	1372	86.9%	2009—2024	15.5	102	5.5	USA	Qualcomm
Esmael H. Dinan	[14]	1497	635	42.4%	2006—2024	18.1	83	3.6	USA	Ofinno
Jun Koyama	[15]	1489	618	41.5%	1991—2024	33.1	45	3.1	Japan	Semiconductor Energy Laboratory
Gurtej Singh Sandhu	[16]	1427	586	41.1%	1991—2024	33	43	2.5	USA	Micron
Jing Sun	[17]	1321	1124	85.1%	2012—2024	11.6	114	5.9	USA	Qualcomm
Paul Lapstun	[18]	1304	246	18.9%	2000—2023	23	57	2.5	Australia	Silverbrook Research
Shou-Shan Fan	[19]	1302	1088	83.6%	2006—2024	18.1	72	4.2	China	Hon Hai
Sarbajit K. Rakshit	[20]	1273	1058	83.1%	2013—2024	11.5	111	3.4	India	IBM
Clarence T. Tegreene	[21]	1247	903	72.4%	2000—2024	23.7	53	10.1	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Alexander Reznicek	[22]	1236	737	59.6%	2006—2024	18.2	68	3.9	USA	IBM
Satoshi Seo	[23]	1167	553	47.4%	2002—2024	21.6	54	4.1	Japan	Semiconductor Energy Laboratory
Kijun Kim	[24]	1136	793	69.8%	2013—2024	10.6	107	4.6	South Korea	LG
Suckchel Yang	[25]	1135	736	64.8%	2013—2024	11	103	4.7	South Korea	LG
Shan Liu	[26]	1113	746	67.0%	2013—2024	10.9	102	3.4	USA	Tencent
Leonard Forbes	[27]	1109	411	37.1%	1975—2019	43.3	26	2.6	USA	Micron
Edward K. Y. Jung	[28]	1109	794	71.6%	1996—2023	27.4	40	8.0	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Joonkui Ahn	[29]	1104	721	65.3%	2013—2024	11	100	4.7	South Korea	LG
Thomas Edison	[30]	1084	NA	NA	1869—1933	63.9	17	1.0	USA	Thomas Edison
Rick Allen Hamilton II	[31]	1062	714	67.2%	1999—2024	25	42	4.2	USA	IBM
Juan Montojo	[32]	1059	867	81.9%	2004—2024	20.4	52	6.9	USA	Qualcomm
Marta Karczewicz	[33]	1050	867	82.6%	2000—2024	23.6	44	4.0	USA	Qualcomm
Ruilong Xie	[34]	1013	753	74.3%	2013—2024	11.5	88	4.2	USA	IBM
Jason L. Harris	[35]	1009	601	59.6%	2011—2024	13.5	75	6.0	USA	Ethicon
Donald E. Weder	[36]	1000	395	39.5%	1978—2015	37.1	27	1.1	USA	Weder Family Trust
Jason K. Resch	[37]	998	500	50.1%	2009—2024	14.9	67	4.2	USA	IBM
George Albert Lyon	[38]	993	NA	NA	1901—1965	64.5	15	1.0	Canada	Lyon George Albert
Michael J. Sullivan	[39]	993	534	53.8%	1989—2024	34.9	28	3.8	USA	Acushnet Holdings
Jordin T. Kare	[40]	988	640	64.8%	1992—2024	31.4	31	9.1	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Tingfang Ji	[41]	980	727	74.2%	2006—2024	17.9	55	6.9	USA	Qualcomm
Jay S. Walker	[42]	978	421	43.0%	1998—2024	25.8	38	5.2	USA	Walker Digital
Yunjung Yi	[43]	973	690	70.9%	2015—2024	8.7	112	3.3	South Korea	LG
Takahiro Nishi	[44]	962	346	36.0%	2001—2024	22.9	42	6.3	Japan	Panasonic
John F. O'Connor	[45]	949	NA	NA	1901—1935	33.9	28	NA	USA	William H. Miner
Ahmadreza Rofougaran	[46]	947	459	48.5%	2002—2024	22.1	43	6.4	USA	Broadcom
Melvin De Groote	[47]	925	NA	NA	1924—1966	41.8	22	NA	USA	Petrolite
David R. Hall	[48]	909	754	82.9%	1985—2024	39	23	3.8	USA	Hall Labs
Seungmin Lee	[49]	907	665	73.3%	2014—2024	9.8	93	3.5	South Korea	LG
Nathan Myhrvold	[50]	905	613	67.7%	1994—2024	29.7	30	11.1	USA	Intellectual Ventures
William H. Eby	[51]	899	895	99.6%	1994—2024	30.2	30	1.2	USA	Monsanto
Francis H. Richards	[52]	894	NA	NA	1899—1930	30.8	29	NA	USA	Francis H. Richards
Hao Xu	[53]	892	637	71.4%	2005—2024	19.2	46	4.7	China	Qualcomm
Mark Malamud	[54]	885	690	78.0%	1997—2023	25.9	34	7.5	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Hajime Kimura	[55]	879	280	31.9%	2002—2024	21.7	41	2.6	Japan	Semiconductor Energy Laboratory
Robert W. Lord	[56]	866	682	78.8%	2003—2024	20.4	42	7.6	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Hongyuan Zhang	[57]	855	471	55.1%	2009—2024	15.2	56	3.9	USA	Marvell
Royce A. Levien	[58]	854	666	78.0%	1997—2023	25.9	33	6.8	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Muriel Y. Ishikawa	[59]	839	560	66.7%	2002—2024	22	38	11.1	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Michael K. Gschwind	[60]	836	442	52.9%	2001—2024	23.2	36	2.6	USA	IBM
Clifford A. Pickover	[61]	834	548	65.7%	1992—2024	32.3	26	3.9	USA	IBM
Lee D. Whetsel	[62]	832	129	15.5%	1991—2024	33.3	25	1.1	USA	Texas Instruments
Chih-Chao Yang	[63]	831	516	62.1%	2003—2024	20.5	41	3.4	USA	IBM
Devendra K. Sadana	[64]	809	457	56.5%	1983—2024	41.4	20	4.3	USA	IBM
SungDuck Chun	[65]	789	481	61.0%	2007—2024	16.5	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
James A. Jorasch	[68]	769	309	40.2%	1994—2024	29.7	26	3.9	USA	Walker Digital
Stuart C. Salter	[69]	767	720	93.9%	2009—2024	14.6	53	4.8	USA	Ford
Youngdae Lee	[70]	766	605	79.0%	2014—2024	10.3	74	3.1	South Korea	LG
Bruce B. Doris	[71]	763	433	56.7%	1995—2023	28.7	27	4.2	USA	IBM
Hsien-Wei Chen	[72]	763	379	49.7%	2005—2024	19.4	39	3.5	Taiwan	TSMC
Jeyhan Karaoguz	[73]	757	371	49.0%	1996—2024	27.5	28	4.6	USA	Broadcom
Justin T. Mason	[74]	755	751	99.5%	2008—2024	15.7	48	1.0	USA	MS Technologies
Carleton Ellis	[75]	753	NA	NA	1902—1946	43.1	17	NA	USA	Ellis Foster Co
Ali Khakifirooz	[76]	751	407	54.2%	2011—2024	12.9	58	4.2	USA	IBM
Xue Dong	[77]	743	726	97.7%	2010—2024	13.6	55	7.4	China	BOE
Yan Zhou	[78]	739	661	89.4%	2012—2024	11.9	62	4.4	USA	Qualcomm
John M. Santosuosso	[79]	738	466	63.1%	2001—2024	22.5	33	3.9	USA	IBM
Hideo Ando	[80]	733	123	16.8%	1983—2020	36.7	20	3.1	Japan	Toshiba
George Spector	[81]	723	723	100%	1974—1998	24.6	29	2.1	USA	George Spector
Austin L. Gurney	[82]	718	182	25.3%	1999—2021	21.6	33	2.9	USA	Genentech
Jean-Philippe M. Vasseur	[83]	717	582	81.2%	2006—2024	18.2	39	2.6	France	Cisco Systems
Satoshi Nagata	[84]	715	679	95.0%	2011—2024	12.8	56	4.0	Japan	NTT
Frederick A. Ware	[85]	715	225	31.5%	1981—2024	42.6	17	2.8	USA	Rambus
Shougo Sato	[86]	714	280	39.2%	1992—2024	31.8	22	1.8	Japan	Brother
Lisa Seacat DeLuca	[87]	708	513	72.5%	2009—2024	15.4	46	2.7	USA	IBM
Gregory J. Boss	[88]	708	485	68.5%	2008—2024	16.4	43	4.2	USA	IBM
Tetsujiro Kondo	[89]	700	528	75.4%	1987—2021	34	21	3.8	Japan	Sony
Elihu Thomson	[90]	696	NA	NA	1899—1935	35.9	19	NA	USA	GE
Kyungmin Park	[91]	691	372	53.8%	2014—2024	10.2	68	5.2	USA	Ofinno
Chung-Shi Liu	[92]	689	377	54.7%	2000—2024	24.5	28	6.1	Taiwan	TSMC
Irwin Gerszberg	[93]	682	313	45.9%	1994—2024	30.3	23	6.8	USA	AT&T
Eric C. Leuthardt	[94]	678	458	67.6%	2006—2024	17.8	38	9.1	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Paul S. Henry	[95]	657	302	46.0%	1978—2024	46.3	14	6.3	USA	AT&T
Woosuk Ko	[96]	654	254	38.8%	2015—2024	9.2	71	3.4	South Korea	LG
William I. Wood	[97]	653	259	39.7%	1981—2013	32.2	20	5.2	USA	Genentech
Xiaochuan Chen	[98]	653	637	97.5%	2014—2024	10	65	7.0	China	BOE
Simon R. Walmsley	[99]	651	171	26.3%	1995—2012	17.2	38	3.2	Australia	Silverbrook Research
Jae Hoon Chung	[100]	650	381	58.6%	2010—2023	13	50	4.5	South Korea	LG

This table is usually updated every Tuesday, and is current as of July 30, 2024^[update].

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^[update] 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.

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.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.

• Timeline of historic inventions
• List of inventors