List of prolific inventors

Inventor		Pats	Fams	Fam %	Pat Yrs	Yrs	Pat /Yr	Inv /Pat	Pat Residence	Majority Assignment
Shunpei Yamazaki	[1]	6090	2797	45.9%	1972—2023	50.8	120	3.6	Japan	Semiconductor Energy Laboratory
Kia Silverbrook	[2]	4747	1311	27.6%	1994—2014	20	237	1.6	Australia	Silverbrook Research
Kangguo Cheng	[3]	2639	1457	55.2%	2004—2023	18.3	144	3.9	USA	IBM
Lowell L. Wood, Jr.	[4]	1985	1322	66.6%	1971—2023	51.2	39	8.8	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Roderick A. Hyde	[5]	1884	1250	66.3%	2001—2022	21.5	88	8.7	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Frederick E. Shelton IV	[6]	1864	984	52.8%	2005—2023	17.6	106	4.5	USA	Ethicon
Tao Luo	[7]	1849	1537	83.1%	2006—2023	16.7	111	5.6	USA	Qualcomm
Peter Gaal	[8]	1606	1247	77.6%	2002—2023	20.5	78	5.9	USA	Qualcomm
Wanshi Chen	[9]	1568	1256	80.1%	2009—2023	13.8	114	5.7	USA	Qualcomm
Chen-Hua Yu	[10]	1495	899	60.1%	1996—2023	26.7	56	4.9	Taiwan	TSMC
Jun Koyama	[11]	1461	622	42.6%	1991—2023	31.6	46	3.1	Japan	Semiconductor Energy Laboratory
Hanbyul Seo	[12]	1428	1089	76.3%	2012—2023	10.8	132	3.8	South Korea	LG
Gurtej Singh Sandhu	[13]	1405	586	41.7%	1991—2023	31.5	45	2.5	USA	Micron
Junyi Li	[14]	1383	1155	83.5%	2002—2023	20.2	68	5.2	USA	Qualcomm
Paul Lapstun	[15]	1302	246	18.9%	2000—2022	21.4	61	2.5	Australia	Silverbrook Research
Shou-Shan Fan	[16]	1269	1064	83.8%	2006—2023	16.8	76	4.2	China	Hon Hai
Clarence T. Tegreene	[17]	1240	901	72.7%	2000—2022	21.9	57	10.1	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Alexander Reznicek	[18]	1175	706	60.1%	2006—2023	16.8	70	3.9	USA	IBM
Leonard Forbes	[19]	1109	411	37.1%	1975—2019	43.3	26	2.6	USA	Micron
Edward K. Y. Jung	[20]	1106	794	71.8%	1996—2022	26.1	42	8.0	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Thomas Edison	[21]	1084	NA	NA	1869—1933	63.9	17	1.0	USA	Thomas Edison
Satoshi Seo	[22]	1080	531	49.2%	2002—2023	20.1	54	4.1	Japan	Semiconductor Energy Laboratory
Rick Allen Hamilton II	[23]	1055	714	67.7%	1999—2023	23.9	44	4.2	USA	IBM
Kijun Kim	[24]	1041	771	74.1%	2013—2023	9.1	114	4.6	South Korea	LG
Esmael H. Dinan	[25]	1034	549	53.1%	2006—2023	16.6	62	3.6	USA	Ofinno
Sarbajit K. Rakshit	[26]	1009	804	79.7%	2013—2023	10.1	100	3.4	India	IBM
Donald E. Weder	[27]	1000	395	39.5%	1978—2015	37.1	27	1.1	USA	Weder Family Trust
George Albert Lyon	[28]	993	NA	NA	1901—1965	64.5	15	1.0	Canada	Lyon George Albert
Jordin T. Kare	[29]	984	639	64.9%	1992—2022	29.9	33	9.1	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Michael J. Sullivan	[30]	982	532	54.2%	1989—2022	33.4	29	3.8	USA	Acushnet Holdings
Jay S. Walker	[31]	975	420	43.1%	1998—2019	24.7	39	5.2	USA	Walker Digital
Joonkui Ahn	[32]	965	652	67.6%	2013—2023	9.6	101	4.7	South Korea	LG
John F. O'Connor	[33]	949	NA	NA	1901—1935	33.9	28	NA	USA	William H. Miner
Jason K. Resch	[34]	931	494	53.1%	2009—2023	13.5	69	4.2	USA	IBM
Melvin De Groote	[35]	925	NA	NA	1924—1966	41.8	22	NA	USA	Petrolite
Suckchel Yang	[36]	924	612	66.2%	2013—2023	9.6	96	4.7	South Korea	LG
Marta Karczewicz	[37]	921	773	83.9%	2000—2023	22.1	42	4.0	USA	Qualcomm
Ahmadreza Rofougaran	[38]	912	460	50.4%	2002—2023	20.6	44	6.4	USA	Broadcom
Yunjung Yi	[39]	905	680	75.1%	2015—2023	7.2	126	3.3	South Korea	LG
Nathan Myhrvold	[40]	900	611	67.9%	1994—2022	28.1	32	11.1	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Francis H. Richards	[41]	894	NA	NA	1899—1930	30.8	29	NA	USA	Francis H. Richards
Ruilong Xie	[42]	891	674	75.6%	2013—2023	10	89	4.2	USA	IBM
Mark Malamud	[43]	884	690	78.1%	1997—2022	25.1	35	7.5	USA	Intellectual Ventures
William H. Eby	[44]	872	868	99.5%	1994—2022	28.4	31	1.2	USA	Monsanto
Robert W. Lord	[45]	863	682	79.0%	2003—2022	18.8	46	7.6	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Xiaoxia Zhang	[46]	861	774	89.9%	2009—2023	14.1	61	5.5	USA	Qualcomm
David R. Hall	[47]	858	716	83.4%	1985—2023	37.6	23	3.8	USA	Hall Labs
Royce A. Levien	[48]	853	666	78.1%	1997—2020	23.4	36	6.8	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Muriel Y. Ishikawa	[49]	836	558	66.7%	2002—2022	19.9	42	11.1	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Michael K. Gschwind	[50]	833	443	53.2%	2001—2023	22	38	2.6	USA	IBM
Clifford A. Pickover	[51]	820	548	66.8%	1992—2023	30.9	27	3.9	USA	IBM
Hajime Kimura	[52]	810	283	34.9%	2002—2023	20.2	40	2.6	Japan	Semiconductor Energy Laboratory
Chih-Chao Yang	[53]	801	496	61.9%	2003—2023	19.1	42	3.4	USA	IBM
Lee D. Whetsel	[54]	797	137	17.2%	1991—2023	31.9	25	1.1	USA	Texas Instruments
Devendra K. Sadana	[55]	789	444	56.3%	1983—2023	40	20	4.3	USA	IBM
Tingfang Ji	[56]	789	599	75.9%	2006—2023	16.5	48	6.9	USA	Qualcomm
Salman Akram	[57]	778	291	37.4%	1995—2023	27.6	28	2.9	USA	Micron
Warren M. Farnworth	[58]	774	289	37.3%	1990—2020	24.4	32	2.8	USA	Micron
SungDuck Chun	[59]	769	465	60.5%	2007—2023	15.1	51	3.8	South Korea	LG
Hongyuan Zhang	[60]	765	434	56.7%	2009—2023	13.7	56	3.9	USA	Marvell
Jason L. Harris	[61]	760	510	67.1%	2011—2023	12.1	63	6.0	USA	Ethicon
Bruce B. Doris	[62]	757	432	57.1%	1995—2023	28	27	4.2	USA	IBM
Jeyhan Karaoguz	[63]	756	371	49.1%	1996—2020	23.8	32	4.6	USA	Broadcom
Carleton Ellis	[64]	753	NA	NA	1902—1946	43.1	17	NA	USA	Ellis Foster Co
Ali Khakifirooz	[65]	746	404	54.2%	2011—2022	10.9	68	4.2	USA	IBM
Takahiro Nishi	[66]	743	322	43.3%	2001—2023	21.5	35	6.3	Japan	Panasonic
John M. Santosuosso	[67]	736	468	63.6%	2001—2022	21.2	35	3.9	USA	IBM
Hideo Ando	[68]	733	123	16.8%	1983—2020	36.7	20	3.1	Japan	Toshiba
Juan Montojo	[69]	728	576	79.1%	2004—2023	18.9	39	6.9	USA	Qualcomm
Jing Sun	[70]	728	648	89.0%	2012—2023	10.1	72	5.9	USA	Qualcomm
George Spector	[71]	723	723	100%	1974—1998	24.6	29	2.1	USA	George Spector
Austin L. Gurney	[72]	718	276	38.4%	1999—2022	23	31	2.9	USA	Genentech
Shan Liu	[73]	706	612	86.7%	2013—2023	9.4	75	3.4	USA	Tencent
Tetsujiro Kondo	[74]	700	528	75.4%	1987—2021	34	21	3.8	Japan	Sony
Elihu Thomson	[75]	696	NA	NA	1899—1935	35.9	19	NA	USA	GE
Seungmin Lee	[76]	693	548	79.1%	2014—2023	8.3	83	3.5	South Korea	LG
Xue Dong	[77]	691	681	98.6%	2010—2023	12.1	57	7.4	China	BOE
Gregory J. Boss	[78]	681	466	68.4%	2008—2023	15	45	4.2	USA	IBM
Lisa Seacat DeLuca	[79]	679	492	72.5%	2009—2023	14	48	2.7	USA	IBM
Irwin Gerszberg	[80]	676	311	46.0%	1994—2023	28.8	23	6.8	USA	AT&T
Eric C. Leuthardt	[81]	671	455	67.8%	2006—2022	16	42	9.1	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Jean-Philippe M. Vasseur	[82]	671	550	82.0%	2006—2023	16.8	40	2.6	France	Cisco Systems
Hsien-Wei Chen	[83]	664	366	55.1%	2005—2023	17.9	37	3.5	Taiwan	TSMC
Shougo Sato	[84]	660	283	42.9%	1992—2023	30.3	22	1.8	Japan	Brother
William I. Wood	[85]	653	259	39.7%	1981—2013	32.2	20	5.2	USA	Genentech
Paul S. Henry	[86]	653	302	46.2%	1978—2023	44.9	15	6.3	USA	AT&T
Youngdae Lee	[87]	653	528	80.9%	2014—2023	8.8	74	3.1	South Korea	LG
Simon R. Walmsley	[88]	651	171	26.3%	1995—2012	17.2	38	3.2	Australia	Silverbrook Research
Jae Hoon Chung	[89]	648	382	59.0%	2010—2023	12.5	52	4.5	South Korea	LG
Stuart C. Salter	[90]	642	606	94.4%	2009—2023	13.1	49	4.8	USA	Ford
Edward J. Nowak	[91]	635	410	64.6%	1979—2021	41.1	15	3.0	USA	IBM
Audrey D. Goddard	[92]	628	247	39.3%	1997—2023	25.5	25	5.3	USA	Genentech
Chung-Shi Liu	[93]	623	370	59.4%	2000—2023	23	27	6.1	Taiwan	TSMC
Kie Y. Ahn	[94]	622	234	37.6%	1970—2013	42.7	15	1.9	USA	Micron
Frederick A. Ware	[95]	620	234	37.7%	1981—2023	41.2	15	2.8	USA	Rambus
John D. Rinaldo, Jr	[96]	619	483	78.0%	2002—2020	17.8	35	8.0	USA	Intellectual Ventures
Justin T. Mason	[97]	615	611	99.3%	2008—2023	14.2	43	1.0	USA	MS Technologies
Anthony K. Stamper	[98]	607	334	55.0%	1998—2023	24.6	25	3.4	USA	IBM
Ronald S. Cok	[99]	602	512	85.0%	1986—2023	36.2	17	3.7	USA	Kodak
Hui-Ling Lou	[100]	598	334	55.9%	1997—2023	25.5	23	3.9	USA	Marvell

This table is usually updated every Tuesday evening in US Eastern time, and is current as of February 14, 2023.

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.

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.

• Timeline of historic inventions
• List of inventors
• List of top United States patent recipients