List of prolific inventors: Difference between revisions
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†<small>This table was last updated on February 14, 2012.</small> |
†<small>This table was last updated on February 14, 2012.</small> |
Revision as of 14:33, 19 February 2012
This article possibly contains original research. (October 2011) |
Thomas Edison was widely known as the world's most prolific inventor.[1][2] He held a total of 1,093 U.S. patents (1,084 utility patents and 9 design patents).[3] By 2005, he was passed by Japanese inventor Shunpei Yamazaki.[4] Yamazaki was subsequently passed by Australian inventor Kia Silverbrook on February 26, 2008.[5] Silverbrook currently holds 4,407 U.S. utility patents as of February 14 2012.[6]
Prolific inventors with more than 350 worldwide utility patent families are shown in the following table. In many cases, this number is also the number of granted U.S. utility patents. A patent family is a set of patents filed in various countries to protect a single invention.
†This table was last updated on February 14, 2012.
- Inventor: The name of the inventor.
- Patent Families: This is the number of families of utility patents that have been issued. In many cases above, it is also the number of issued U.S. utility patents. There is a direct correspondence between the number of patent families and the number of unique patented inventions. The total number of worldwide patents does not correspond closely to the number of inventions, as each separate invention must be filed as a separate patent in each country for which patent protection is sought. Only utility patents are listed, as a utility patent is a patent for an invention. Not all patents are for inventions. Other patent types are: 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.
- Total, INPADOC: Worldwide number of patents of all types (utility, design, plant, etc.) This includes patent applications, and duplication of the same patent in multiple countries, so is usually an overestimate of the total number of inventions. This data is primarily from INPADOC, an international patent collection produced and maintained by the European Patent Office (EPO). For some inventors active before computer records were available, the total number of patents is not available (NA).
- Country: This is the country of birth of the inventor, where known. If the country of birth is unknown, this is the country of patent filing.
- Years: These are the birth and death years of the inventor, where known.
- Main fields of invention: These are the main areas that the inventor is or was active in.
Threshold for inclusion
As the average number of patents per inventor is around 3, some sources define prolific inventors as five times above the average (in terms of patents), leading to a threshold of 15 patents.[106]. However, this table currently has an arbitrary cut-off limit for inclusion of 350 patent families. This is purely for practical reasons - there are 50 inventors throughout history with more than 350 utility patent families, but tens of thousands of inventors with more than 15 patents. The threshold of 350 patents results in the unfortunate exclusion of famous inventors such as Nikola Tesla from this list, as Tesla had 111 patents.[107][108]
Significance of inventions
This table is a ranking of the most prolific inventors, not necessarily the most significant inventors. 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.
The common symbol for inventiveness - the light bulb - is a perfect example. The first incandescent light bulb was invented by British chemist Sir Humphry Davy in 1802. Many subsequent inventors improved Davy's invention prior to the successful commercialization of electric lighting by Thomas Edison in 1880, 78 years later. Electric lighting continued to be developed. Edison's carbon filament light bulb was made obsolete by the tungsten filament light bulb, invented in 1904. It is this that forms the popular conception of a light bulb, though there are other major forms of lighting. The principle of fluorescent lights was known since 1845, and various inventors, including Edison and Nikola Tesla worked on them without commercial success. Various improvements were made by many other inventors, until General Electric introduced "fluorescent lumiline lamps" commercially in 1938, first available to the public at the 1939 World's Fair. LED lamps also have a long history, with the first light-emitting diode (LED) invented in 1927 by Oleg Losev. LEDs were initially of low brightness, and have been used as indicator lamps and seven-segment displays since 1968. It wasn't until the development of high efficiency blue LEDs by Shuji Nakamura in the 1980s that white LEDs for lighting applications became practical. Although higher cost than incandescent light bulbs, LEDs have higher efficiency and longer life and may finally displace light bulbs in general lighting applications. In each case, more than 50 years passed between the initial invention and commercial success in general lighting applications.
Various published lists
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.[19] 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.
Popular Science (1936)
In January 1936, Popular Science Magazine published a list of the "most prolific living inventors to be found in America today."[30]
Rank | Inventor | U.S. Patents |
---|---|---|
1 | John F. O'Connor | 949 |
2 | Elihu Thomson | 696 |
3 | Carleton Ellis | 648 |
4 | Henry A. Wise Wood | 434 |
5 | John Hays Hammond Jr. | 360 |
6 | Clyde C. Farmer | 344 |
7 | Ethan I. Dodds | 321 |
8 | Edward Weston | 309 |
Thomas Edison was not included in the list, as he died in 1931, five years earlier.
Time Magazine (2000)
On December 4, 2000, Time Magazine published a list of the "top five inventors".[1]
Rank | Inventor | U.S. Patents |
---|---|---|
1 | Thomas Edison | 1,093 |
2 | Melvin De Groote | 925 |
3 | Francis H. Richards | 894 |
4 | Elihu Thomson | 696 |
5 | Jerome Lemelson | 554 |
This list only included U.S. inventors, so omitted Canadian inventor George Albert Lyon, with 993 U.S. patents at the time of publication, Japanese inventor Shunpei Yamazaki, with 745 U.S. patents, and Béla Barényi, with 595 German patents. Also omitted were John F. O'Connor with 949 U.S. patents, and Carleton Ellis, with 753 U.S. patents at the time of publication.
USA Today (2005)
On December 13, 2005 USA Today published a list of "the top 10 living U.S. patent holders":[4]
Rank | Inventor | U.S. Patents |
---|---|---|
1 | Shunpei Yamazaki | 1,432 |
2 | Donald Weder | 1,322 |
3 | Kia Silverbrook | 810 |
4 | George Spector | 723 |
5 | Gurtej Sandhu | 576 |
6 | Warren Farnworth | 547 |
7 | Salman Akram | 527 |
8 | Mark Gardner | 512 |
9 | Heinz Focke | 508 |
10 | Joseph Straeter | 477 |
This research was performed by ipIQ of Chicago (now "The Patent Board"[109]) and 1790 Analytics[110] of New Jersey. This list only considered living inventors, and thus did not include such prolific inventors as Thomas Edison, Melvin De Groote, and Elihu Thomson. This list included design patents, which are not patents for inventions.
Condé Nast Portfolio (2007)
On October 15, 2007 Condé Nast Portfolio Magazine published a list[10] of "the world's most prolific inventors alive":
Rank | Inventor | U.S. Patents |
---|---|---|
1 | Shunpei Yamazaki | 1,811 |
2 | Kia Silverbrook | 1,646 |
3 | Donald Weder | 1,350 |
4 | George Spector | 722 |
5 | Gurtej Sandhu | 674 |
6 | Leonard Forbes | 671 |
7 | Warren Farnworth | 635 |
8 | Salman Akram | 612 |
9 | Mark Gardner | 515 |
10 | Joseph Straeter | 485 |
This research was performed by The Patent Board,[109] a Chicago patent research and advisory firm. As with the USA Today list, the Portfolio list only considered living inventors, and thus did not include such prolific inventors as Thomas Edison. This list also included design patents, which are not patents for inventions.
Business Insider (2011)
On 6 May 2011 Business Insider published an article titled: "The Ten Greatest Inventors In The Modern Era"[9] containing the following list:
Rank | Inventor | U.S. Patents |
---|---|---|
1 | Kia Silverbrook | 3,847 |
2 | Shunpei Yamazaki | 2,061 |
3 | Thomas Edison | 1,084 |
4 | George Albert Lyon | 993 |
5 | Paul Lapstun | 969 |
6 | Donald Weder | 951 |
7 | John F. O'Connor | 949 |
8 | Leonard Forbes | 948 |
9 | Melvin De Groote | 925 |
10 | Francis H. Richards | 894 |
This list included living and dead inventors, and only included granted utility patents (patents for inventions).
Annual lists (2007-2011)
Strutpatent.com publishes weekly, monthly, and annual lists of the top ten categories, inventors and assignees of US patents since 2007. These lists include all patent types, not just patents for inventions (utility patents).
The top ten inventors of US patents for 2007:[11]
Rank | Inventor | U.S. Patents |
---|---|---|
1 | Kia Silverbrook | 502 |
2 | Audrey Goddard | 232 |
3 | William I. Wood | 232 |
4 | Austin L. Gurney | 225 |
5 | Chang-Hwan Hwang | 203 |
6 | Paul J. Godowski | 193 |
7 | Shunpei Yamazaki | 139 |
8 | Paul Lapstun | 129 |
9 | Leonard Forbes | 120 |
10 | Victoria Smith | 112 |
The top ten inventors of US patents for 2008:[12]
Rank | Inventor | U.S. Patents |
---|---|---|
1 | Kia Silverbrook | 576 |
2 | Chang-Hwan Hwang | 198 |
3 | Audrey Goddard | 168 |
4 | Austin L. Gurney | 167 |
5 | William I. Wood | 166 |
6 | Paul J. Godowski | 153 |
7 | Shunpei Yamazaki | 143 |
8 | Paul Lapstun | 137 |
9 | Chang-Soo Lee | 129 |
10 | Victoria Smith | 122 |
The top ten inventors of US patents for 2009:[13]
Rank | Inventor | U.S. Patents |
---|---|---|
1 | Kia Silverbrook | 444 |
2 | Shunpei Yamazaki | 137 |
3 | Paul Lapstun | 113 |
4 | Bartley K. Andre | 92 |
5 | Daniele De Iuliis | 92 |
6 | Jonathan Ive | 92 |
7 | Matthew Rohrbach | 92 |
8 | Richard P. Howarth | 91 |
9 | Duncan Robert Kerr | 91 |
10 | Leonard Forbes | 91 |
The top ten inventors of US patents for 2010:[14]
Rank | Inventor | U.S. Patents |
---|---|---|
1 | Kia Silverbrook | 709 |
2 | Paul Lapstun | 191 |
3 | Shunpei Yamazaki | 162 |
4 | Simon Walmsley | 115 |
5 | Bartley K. Andre | 114 |
6 | Matthew Rohrbach | 109 |
7 | Richard P. Howarth | 108 |
8 | Jonathan Ive | 108 |
9 | Duncan Robert Kerr | 108 |
10 | Daniel J. Coster | 106 |
The top ten inventors of US patents for 2011:[15]
Rank | Inventor | U.S. Patents |
---|---|---|
1 | Kia Silverbrook | 754 |
2 | Paul Lapstun | 268 |
3 | Shunpei Yamazaki | 163 |
4 | Hideo Ando | 162 |
5 | You Yoshioka | 153 |
6 | Scott H. Wittkopp | 126 |
7 | James M. Hart | 125 |
8 | Edward K. Y. Jung | 112 |
9 | Simon Walmsley | 112 |
10 | Jay S. Walker | 99 |
Differences between lists
Differences in patent numbers between the various lists are due to several reasons:
- The lists were created on different dates. As many of the inventors in the lists are still active, the number of patents they hold are increasing.
- While the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is the primary source for U.S. patent information, only patents issued since 1976 can be electronically searched by the inventor's name at the USPTO website.[111] For some of the listed inventors, such as Thomas Edison, all of their patents predate 1976, so other sources must be used.
- Often entities list the worldwide total number of patents that they hold. This is not the same as the number of inventions, as a patent in one country may be for the same invention as a patent in another country. The set of patents covering a single invention in different countries is a Patent family.
- The Time, USA Today and Portfolio lists show the total number of U.S. patents, including patents for designs (Design patents) as well as patents for inventions (Utility patents).
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Man-Made Marvels Time Magazine, Dec 4, 2000
- ^ Thomas Alva Edison Biography at Rutgers University
- ^ a b List of Edison patents
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k You really can find identities of top patent holders USA Today, Dec 13, 2005
- ^ a b c The True Inventor Basson-Booyens website
- ^ a b USPTO Utility Patent Search for Kia Silverbrook
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Kia Silverbrook
- ^ US Patent Applications of Kia Silverbrook
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k The Ten Greatest Inventors In The Modern Era Business Insider, 6 May 2011
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Masters of invention Portfolio, October 15, 2007
- ^ a b c d e f g h i List of the top ten US patent grantees for 2007 StrutPatent.com website
- ^ a b c d e f g h List of the top ten US patent grantees for 2008 StrutPatent.com website
- ^ a b c d e List of the top ten US patent grantees for 2009 StrutPatent.com website
- ^ a b c d e List of the top ten US patent grantees for 2010 StrutPatent.com website
- ^ a b c d e f g List of the top ten US patent grantees for 2011 StrutPatent.com website
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Shunpei/Shumpei Yamazaki
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Shunpei/Shumpei Yamazaki
- ^ US Patent Applications of Shunpei Yamazaki
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j USPTO publication: Prolific Inventors Receiving Utility Patents 1988-1997
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Paul Lapstun
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Paul Lapstun
- ^ US Patent Applications of Paul Lapstun
- ^ Edison's Foreign Patents
- ^ The Complete Thomas Alva Edison U.S. Patent Collection
- ^ Archived Boliven Utility Patent Search for George Albert Lyon(s)
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Leonard Forbes
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Leonard Forbes
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Donald Weder
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Donald Weder
- ^ a b c d e Meet the Champion Inventors Popular Science, vol 128 No 1, January 1936
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Gurtej Sandhu
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Gurtej Sandhu
- ^ B. Zorina Khan, The Democratization of Invention: Patents and Copyrights in American Economic Development, 1790-1920 (Cambridge University Press, 2005) pp209-210
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Warren Farnworth
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Warren Farnworth
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Jun Koyama
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Jun Koyama
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for George Spector
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Salman Akram
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Salman Akram
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for William I. Wood
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for William I. Wood
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Simon Walmsley
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Simon Walmsley
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Josef Theurer
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Josef Theurer
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Audrey Goddard
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Audrey Goddard
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Jay Walker
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Jay Walker
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Austin L. Gurney
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Austin L. Gurney
- ^ The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention & Innovation web site, Jerome Lemelson's Patents.
- ^ German Utility Patent Search for Béla Barényi
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Béla Barényi
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Tetsujiro Kondo
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Tetsujiro Kondo
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Paul J. Godowski
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Paul J. Godowski
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Hideo Ando
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Hideo Ando
- ^ Reference to German patents of Artur Fischer
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Artur Fischer
- ^ Victor K. McElheny, Insisting on the impossible: The Life of Edwin Land (Perseus Books, 1998)
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Edwin H. Land
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Kie Y Ahn
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Kie Y Ahn
- ^ Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Henry Dreyfus
- ^ a b Archived Boliven.com website
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Clyde C. Farmer
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Mark I. Gardner
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Mark I. Gardner
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Heinz Focke
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Heinz Focke
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Tadahiro Ohmi
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Tadahiro Ohmi
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Louis H. Morin
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Michael Sullivan
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Michael J. Sullivan
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for William Eby
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for William Eby
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Tobin King
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Tobin King
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Eberhard Ammermann
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Eberhard Ammermann
- ^ Full patent listing for Thomas E. Murray
- ^ Thomas E. Murray web site
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Hongyong Zhang
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Hongyong Zhang
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Ravi Arimilli
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Ravi Arimilli
- ^ The Infography of John Hays Hammond, Jr.
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for John Hays Hammond
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Wilhelm Brandes
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Wilhelm Brandes
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Akira Nakazawa
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Akira Nakazawa
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Hans-Joachim Santel
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Hans-Joachim Santel
- ^ USPTO Utility Patent Search for Gisela Lorenz
- ^ Worldwide Patent Search for Gisela Lorenz
- ^ George Westinghouse article at ideafinder.com
- ^ Hubert, P. G. (1894). Men of achievement. Inventors. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Page 296+
- ^ George Westinghouse article in Encyclopaedia Britannica
- ^ Prolific Inventors: Who are They and Where do They Locate? International Centre for Economic Research Working Paper No. 14/2010
- ^ List of Nikola Tesla patents
- ^ Jim Bieberich's Complete Nikola Tesla U.S. Patent Collection
- ^ a b The Patent Board website
- ^ 1790 Analytics website
- ^ USPTO Patent Search website