The Most Prolific Inventors of the Past 25 Years, and the Connections Between Them

A simple analysis of inventor data from the US Patent and Trade Marks Office (USPTO) records reveals something interesting but, upon reflection, unsurprising: invention does not happen in a vacuum. Prolific inventors tend to be associated with other prolific inventors, and/or with prolifically inventive organisations. Of the ten people who have received the most US patents over the past 25 years, there are four ‘pairs’ of inventors who have worked closely together over an extended period, and one who works for IBM – a company that recently topped the list of US patent recipients for the 24th consecutive year. And, while the final member of the top 10 is not partnered with any other famously prolific inventor or company, he has at least one co-inventor on around half of his granted patents, where the same names of family and associates keep cropping up.

Two Australians make the list. Indeed, the most prolific recipient of US patents over the last quarter century is Australian Kia Silverbrook. The other Australian in the top 10, at number five, is Paul Lapstun, who has worked with Silverbrook for many years. Japan’s top inventor, Shunpei Yamazaki comes in at number two, with his colleague at Yamazaki’s company Semiconductor Energy Laboratory (SEL), Jun Koyama, at number four. Long time collaborators, and now senior inventors at Intellectual Ventures, Rod Hyde and Lowell Wood sit at numbers three and six respectively.  

Two members of the list, Apple’s Jony Ive (10) and Bartley Andre (seven), make the grade primarily on the basis of their large numbers of design patents, while Kangguo Cheng comes in at number eight on the basis of his work at IBM Research.

The tenth member of the top ten, coming in at number nine, is Donald E Weder, who is inventor or co-inventor on a mix of utility and design patents relating primarily to floristry. Even though Weder is not paired with any other member of the top 10, or associated with a famous corporation like IBM, he is nonetheless a collaborator like all the other, sharing the inventing credits with up to 11 others on some of his patents.

All of this serves to confirm that the popular image of the lone inventor, toiling away in isolation in a laboratory or garage somewhere, is a complete myth. Innovation mostly happens where the conditions are right, and that means having a supportive environment, including teams of innovative people who can work together and bounce ideas off one another in the course of creating something new. Indeed, over 3,600 patents attributed to the top 10 inventors have two members of the list as co-inventors.

For the full results, further details of the inventors and their collaborations, and comments on the implications of all this, please visit my blog.