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Which inventors hold the most patents?
Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) was awarded 1,093 U.S. patents and thousands more by authorities in dozens of other countries, making him the individual inventor with the largest number of patents. The electric light bulb, the phonograph and the motion-picture camera are merely the most famous of Edison's numerous inventions.
The most prolific individual inventor of recent times was the late Jerome Lemelson, who successfully enforced conceptual patents on the video camcorder and illuminated highway signs, among other things.
Individual inventors have in recent years accounted for about 23 percent of U.S.-issued patents. In contrast, businesses chalk up many more patents. Between 1977 and 1996, General Electric Corp. was the company awarded the most U.S. patents: 16,206.
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