# 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.

## Prolific Inventors

| Inventor | Pats | Fams | Fam % | Pat Yrs | Yrs | Pat /Yr | Inv /Pat | Pat Residence | Majority Assignment |
| Shunpei Yamazaki | 6520 | 2871 | 44.0% | 1972—2025 | 52.9 | 123 | 3.6 | Japan | Semiconductor Energy Laboratory |
| Kia Silverbrook | 4747 | 1311 | 27.6% | 1994—2014 | 20 | 237 | 1.6 | Australia | Silverbrook Research |
| Tao Luo | 3785 | 3160 | 83.5% | 2006—2025 | 18.8 | 201 | 5.6 | USA | Qualcomm |
| Kangguo Cheng | 2774 | 1524 | 54.9% | 2004—2025 | 20.3 | 137 | 3.9 | USA | IBM |
| Frederick E. Shelton IV | 2499 | 1159 | 46.4% | 2005—2025 | 19.7 | 127 | 4.5 | USA | Ethicon |
| Junyi Li | 2389 | 2019 | 84.5% | 2002—2025 | 22.3 | 107 | 5.2 | USA | Qualcomm |
| Peter Gaal | 2313 | 1778 | 76.9% | 2002—2025 | 22.5 | 103 | 5.9 | USA | Qualcomm |
| Wanshi Chen | 2143 | 1650 | 77.0% | 2009—2025 | 15.8 | 136 | 5.7 | USA | Qualcomm |
| Lowell L. Wood, Jr. | 1998 | 1326 | 66.4% | 1971—2025 | 53.4 | 37 | 8.8 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
| Roderick A. Hyde | 1892 | 1252 | 66.2% | 2001—2023 | 22.4 | 84 | 8.7 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
| Xiaoxia Zhang | 1822 | 1557 | 85.5% | 2009—2025 | 16.1 | 113 | 5.5 | USA | Qualcomm |
| Chen-Hua Yu | 1810 | 961 | 53.1% | 1996—2025 | 28.8 | 63 | 4.9 | Taiwan | TSMC |
| Hanbyul Seo | 1726 | 1277 | 74.0% | 2012—2025 | 12.9 | 134 | 3.8 | South Korea | LG |
| Esmael H. Dinan | 1709 | 698 | 40.8% | 2006—2025 | 18.7 | 91 | 3.6 | USA | Ofinno |
| Jing Sun | 1511 | 1267 | 83.9% | 2012—2025 | 12.2 | 124 | 5.9 | USA | Qualcomm |
| Jun Koyama | 1502 | 618 | 41.1% | 1991—2022 | 30.8 | 49 | 3.1 | Japan | Semiconductor Energy Laboratory |
| Gurtej Singh Sandhu | 1428 | 584 | 40.9% | 1991—2024 | 32.5 | 44 | 2.5 | USA | Micron |
| Sarbajit K. Rakshit | 1371 | 1147 | 83.7% | 2013—2025 | 12.1 | 113 | 3.4 | India | IBM |
| Shan Liu | 1326 | 859 | 64.8% | 2013—2025 | 11.5 | 115 | 3.4 | USA | Tencent |
| Shou-Shan Fan | 1308 | 1094 | 83.6% | 2006—2025 | 18.7 | 70 | 4.2 | China | Hon Hai |
| Paul Lapstun | 1305 | 246 | 18.9% | 2000—2022 | 21.4 | 61 | 2.5 | Australia | Silverbrook Research |
| Alexander Reznicek | 1262 | 757 | 60.0% | 2006—2025 | 18.9 | 67 | 3.9 | USA | IBM |
| Clarence T. Tegreene | 1249 | 903 | 72.3% | 2000—2024 | 23.5 | 53 | 10.1 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
| Suckchel Yang | 1215 | 784 | 64.5% | 2013—2025 | 11.7 | 104 | 4.7 | South Korea | LG |
| Satoshi Seo | 1210 | 571 | 47.2% | 2002—2025 | 22.2 | 55 | 4.1 | Japan | Semiconductor Energy Laboratory |
| Kijun Kim | 1163 | 808 | 69.5% | 2013—2025 | 11.2 | 104 | 4.6 | South Korea | LG |
| Juan Montojo | 1147 | 933 | 81.3% | 2004—2025 | 21 | 55 | 6.9 | USA | Qualcomm |
| Joonkui Ahn | 1142 | 744 | 65.1% | 2013—2025 | 11.7 | 98 | 4.7 | South Korea | LG |
| Edward K. Y. Jung | 1111 | 794 | 71.5% | 1996—2022 | 26.1 | 43 | 8.0 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
| Leonard Forbes | 1109 | 411 | 37.1% | 1975—2019 | 43.3 | 26 | 2.6 | USA | Micron |
| Jason L. Harris | 1093 | 625 | 57.2% | 2011—2025 | 14.1 | 78 | 6.0 | USA | Ethicon |
| Thomas Edison | 1084 | NA | NA | 1869—1933 | 63.9 | 17 | 1.0 | USA | Thomas Edison |
| Marta Karczewicz | 1081 | 890 | 82.3% | 2000—2025 | 24.2 | 45 | 4.0 | USA | Qualcomm |
| Takahiro Nishi | 1080 | 371 | 34.4% | 2001—2025 | 23.5 | 46 | 6.3 | Japan | Panasonic |
| Rick Allen Hamilton II | 1063 | 714 | 67.2% | 1999—2024 | 25 | 43 | 4.2 | USA | IBM |
| Ruilong Xie | 1050 | 787 | 75.0% | 2013—2025 | 12.1 | 87 | 4.2 | USA | IBM |
| Tingfang Ji | 1041 | 771 | 74.1% | 2006—2025 | 18.6 | 56 | 6.9 | USA | Qualcomm |
| Jason K. Resch | 1029 | 509 | 49.5% | 2009—2025 | 15.5 | 66 | 4.2 | USA | IBM |
| Seungmin Lee | 1002 | 743 | 74.2% | 2014—2025 | 10.4 | 96 | 3.5 | South Korea | LG |
| Donald E. Weder | 1000 | 395 | 39.5% | 1978—2015 | 37.1 | 27 | 1.1 | USA | Weder Family Trust |
| Michael J. Sullivan | 997 | 534 | 53.6% | 1989—2024 | 34.5 | 29 | 3.8 | USA | Acushnet Holdings |
| George Albert Lyon | 993 | NA | NA | 1901—1965 | 64.5 | 15 | 1.0 | Canada | Lyon George Albert |
| Jordin T. Kare | 990 | 640 | 64.6% | 1992—2023 | 30.5 | 32 | 9.1 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
| Yunjung Yi | 987 | 695 | 70.4% | 2015—2024 | 8.9 | 111 | 3.3 | South Korea | LG |
| Jay S. Walker | 979 | 422 | 43.1% | 1998—2024 | 26.3 | 37 | 5.2 | USA | Walker Digital |
| Ahmadreza Rofougaran | 969 | 468 | 48.3% | 2002—2025 | 22.7 | 43 | 6.4 | USA | Broadcom |
| John F. O'Connor | 949 | NA | NA | 1901—1935 | 33.9 | 28 | NA | USA | William H. Miner |
| Hao Xu | 936 | 672 | 71.8% | 2005—2025 | 19.9 | 47 | 4.7 | China | Qualcomm |
| Melvin De Groote | 925 | NA | NA | 1924—1966 | 41.8 | 22 | NA | USA | Petrolite |
| David R. Hall | 920 | 761 | 82.7% | 1985—2025 | 39.6 | 23 | 3.8 | USA | Hall Labs |
| Hajime Kimura | 909 | 288 | 31.7% | 2002—2025 | 22.3 | 41 | 2.6 | Japan | Semiconductor Energy Laboratory |
| William H. Eby | 908 | 904 | 99.6% | 1994—2025 | 30.8 | 29 | 1.2 | USA | Monsanto |
| Nathan Myhrvold | 906 | 613 | 67.7% | 1994—2024 | 29.7 | 31 | 11.1 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
| Francis H. Richards | 894 | NA | NA | 1899—1930 | 30.8 | 29 | NA | USA | Francis H. Richards |
| Hongyuan Zhang | 891 | 484 | 54.3% | 2009—2025 | 15.8 | 56 | 3.9 | USA | Marvell |
| Mark Malamud | 886 | 690 | 77.9% | 1997—2022 | 25.1 | 35 | 7.5 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
| Yan Zhou | 871 | 771 | 88.5% | 2012—2025 | 12.5 | 70 | 4.4 | USA | Qualcomm |
| Robert W. Lord | 867 | 682 | 78.7% | 2003—2024 | 20.4 | 42 | 7.6 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
| Royce A. Levien | 855 | 666 | 77.9% | 1997—2020 | 23.4 | 37 | 6.8 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
| Chih-Chao Yang | 845 | 529 | 62.6% | 2003—2025 | 21.2 | 40 | 3.4 | USA | IBM |
| Lee D. Whetsel | 843 | 128 | 15.2% | 1991—2017 | 26.4 | 32 | 1.1 | USA | Texas Instruments |
| Muriel Y. Ishikawa | 840 | 560 | 66.7% | 2002—2023 | 21.2 | 40 | 11.1 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
| Michael K. Gschwind | 836 | 442 | 52.9% | 2001—2021 | 20.6 | 41 | 2.6 | USA | IBM |
| Clifford A. Pickover | 836 | 548 | 65.6% | 1992—2024 | 32.2 | 26 | 3.9 | USA | IBM |
| Stuart C. Salter | 829 | 777 | 93.7% | 2009—2025 | 15.2 | 55 | 4.8 | USA | Ford |
| Justin T. Mason | 822 | 818 | 99.5% | 2008—2025 | 16.3 | 50 | 1.0 | USA | MS Technologies |
| Devendra K. Sadana | 820 | 463 | 56.5% | 1983—2025 | 42.1 | 19 | 4.3 | USA | IBM |
| Satoshi Nagata | 817 | 780 | 95.5% | 2011—2025 | 13.4 | 61 | 4.0 | Japan | NTT |
| Youngdae Lee | 812 | 639 | 78.7% | 2014—2025 | 10.9 | 74 | 3.1 | South Korea | LG |
| Hsien-Wei Chen | 810 | 384 | 47.4% | 2005—2025 | 20 | 40 | 3.5 | Taiwan | TSMC |
| SungDuck Chun | 801 | 491 | 61.3% | 2007—2025 | 17.2 | 47 | 3.8 | South Korea | LG |
| Kyungmin Park | 794 | 397 | 50.0% | 2014—2025 | 10.9 | 73 | 5.2 | USA | Ofinno |
| Salman Akram | 785 | 291 | 37.1% | 1995—2024 | 29.4 | 27 | 2.9 | USA | Micron |
| Warren M. Farnworth | 774 | 289 | 37.3% | 1990—2014 | 24.4 | 32 | 2.8 | USA | Micron |
| James A. Jorasch | 771 | 309 | 40.1% | 1994—2023 | 29 | 27 | 3.9 | USA | Walker Digital |
| Xue Dong | 766 | 743 | 97.0% | 2010—2025 | 14.2 | 54 | 7.4 | China | BOE |
| Bruce B. Doris | 764 | 434 | 56.8% | 1995—2025 | 30.1 | 25 | 4.2 | USA | IBM |
| Jeyhan Karaoguz | 757 | 371 | 49.0% | 1996—2020 | 23.8 | 32 | 4.6 | USA | Broadcom |
| Ali Khakifirooz | 754 | 410 | 54.4% | 2011—2025 | 13.5 | 56 | 4.2 | USA | IBM |
| Carleton Ellis | 753 | NA | NA | 1902—1946 | 43.1 | 17 | NA | USA | Ellis Foster Co |
| Frederick A. Ware | 749 | 227 | 30.3% | 1981—2024 | 42.8 | 18 | 2.8 | USA | Rambus |
| Shougo Sato | 742 | 285 | 38.4% | 1992—2025 | 32.3 | 23 | 1.8 | Japan | Brother |
| John M. Santosuosso | 738 | 466 | 63.1% | 2001—2022 | 20.7 | 36 | 3.9 | USA | IBM |
| Hua Zhou | 734 | 403 | 54.9% | 2012—2025 | 13 | 56 | 5.5 | USA | Ofinno |
| Hideo Ando | 733 | 123 | 16.8% | 1983—2020 | 36.7 | 20 | 3.1 | Japan | Toshiba |
| Jean-Philippe M. Vasseur | 732 | 593 | 81.0% | 2006—2025 | 18.8 | 39 | 2.6 | France | Cisco Systems |
| George Spector | 723 | 723 | 100% | 1974—1998 | 24.6 | 29 | 2.1 | USA | George Spector |
| Austin L. Gurney | 718 | 182 | 25.3% | 1999—2021 | 21.6 | 33 | 2.9 | USA | Genentech |
| Chung-Shi Liu | 715 | 385 | 53.8% | 2000—2025 | 25.1 | 28 | 6.1 | Taiwan | TSMC |
| Lisa Seacat DeLuca | 715 | 519 | 72.6% | 2009—2025 | 16.1 | 44 | 2.7 | USA | IBM |
| Gregory J. Boss | 711 | 488 | 68.6% | 2008—2024 | 16.8 | 42 | 4.2 | USA | IBM |
| Tetsujiro Kondo | 700 | 528 | 75.4% | 1987—2021 | 34 | 21 | 3.8 | Japan | Sony |
| Elihu Thomson | 696 | NA | NA | 1899—1935 | 35.9 | 19 | NA | USA | GE |
| Woosuk Ko | 693 | 290 | 41.8% | 2015—2025 | 9.9 | 70 | 3.4 | South Korea | LG |
| Toshiyasu Sugio | 690 | 255 | 37.0% | 2009—2025 | 15.5 | 45 | 4.9 | Japan | Panasonic |
| Irwin Gerszberg | 682 | 312 | 45.7% | 1994—2023 | 29.2 | 23 | 6.8 | USA | AT&T |
| Eric C. Leuthardt | 681 | 459 | 67.4% | 2006—2024 | 17.8 | 38 | 9.1 | USA | Intellectual Ventures |
| Xiaochuan Chen | 673 | 654 | 97.2% | 2014—2025 | 10.6 | 63 | 7.0 | China | BOE |
| Aleksandar Damnjanovic | 662 | 486 | 73.4% | 2003—2025 | 21.6 | 31 | 4.4 | USA | Qualcomm |
| Hui-Ling Lou | 661 | 345 | 52.2% | 1997—2024 | 27.2 | 24 | 3.9 | USA | Marvell |
This table is usually updated every Tuesday, and is current as of March 11, 2025.
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

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

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. 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.