A Look at Steve Jobs' 313 Apple Patents

[MacRumors]

With Steve Jobs' resignation as Apple CEO yesterday, there have been many reflections on his career and the impact he had on shaping Apple, the technology industry, and beyond. The New York Times takes an interesting perspective on his attention to detail, noting that Jobs has been named as an inventor on a total of 313 Apple patents. Of those, Jobs appears as the lead inventor 33 times.

Image from Jobs' glass staircase patent​

Jobs' name appears not only on patents for iconic devices like the iPhone but also on a number of less prominent details ranging from the glass staircases found in some Apple retail stores to power adapters to cardboard packaging for various iPod models.

Mr. Jobs appears as the principal inventor or as one inventor among several on 313 Apple patents. Most are design patents that cover the look and feel of a product, rather than utility patents, which may cover a technical innovation like a software algorithm or computer chip.

Still, the number of patents is far larger than those granted to most other technology company chiefs, including those whose technical breakthroughs and inventions were instrumental to their companies' success. Just nine Microsoft patents carry the name of Bill Gates, who was a co-founder of the company and its chief executive for more than two decades before stepping down in 2000. And little more than a dozen Google patents carry the names of co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, according to a search of the United States Patent and Trademark Office Web site.

The New York Times has put together an interactive feature highlighting Apple patents attributed to Jobs. More than 200 of the patents attributed to Jobs also list Apple design guru Jonathan Ive, indicating the close collaboration between the two in creating the vision for Apple's products.

Article Link: A Look at Steve Jobs' 313 Apple Patents

 

[MacSince1990]

313 patents? That's like Edison all over again..

 

[MorphingDragon]

313 patents? That's like Edison all over again..

Yes but Jobs didn't have Tesla to copy off.

 

[talkingfuture]

Certainly an impressive back catalogue. That linked article is a good slideshow of apple innovations.

 

[igazza]

glass staircase lol

 

[tigres]

Did not know Steve had ties to the D.

 

[MacSince1990]

Yes but Jobs didn't have Tesla to copy off.

No, he had Xerox

 

[nylonsteel]

steve - thats so cool you have your name on all those patents
wish i could have at least 1 patent with my name on it

 

[zeemeerman2]

What?!

How the hell do you patent a glass staircase?

Or is it more generic, like "a device to move you from one floor to another, made out of a material you can look through, or can't look through"

Are you sure there wasn't any prior art?

 

[MacSince1990]

What?!

How the hell do you patent a glass staircase?

Or is it more generic, like "a device to move you from one floor to another, made out of a material you can look through, or can't look through"

Are you sure there wasn't any prior art?

Honestly you can patent just about anything, so long as it's slightly different from what's already out there.

 

[razmaspaz]

Pixar

No Pixar patents?

 

[Ashwood11]

"Jobs' name appears not only on patents for iconic devices like the iPhone but also on a number of less prominent details ranging from the glass staircases found in some Apple retail stores to power adapters to cardboard packaging for various iPod models."

Attention to detail.

 

[arcite]

Steve Jobs is awesome. No ifs, ands, or buts.



Cook has now addressed the Apple team as CEO in the email posted below:

Team:

I am looking forward to the amazing opportunity of serving as CEO of the most innovative company in the world. Joining Apple was the best decision I’ve ever made and it’s been the privilege of a lifetime to work for Apple and Steve for over 13 years. I share Steve’s optimism for Apple’s bright future.

Steve has been an incredible leader and mentor to me, as well as to the entire executive team and our amazing employees. We are really looking forward to Steve’s ongoing guidance and inspiration as our Chairman.

I want you to be confident that Apple is not going to change. I cherish and celebrate Apple’s unique principles and values. Steve built a company and culture that is unlike any other in the world and we are going to stay true to that—it is in our DNA. We are going to continue to make the best products in the world that delight our customers and make our employees incredibly proud of what they do.

I love Apple and I am looking forward to diving into my new role. All of the incredible support from the Board, the executive team and many of you has been inspiring. I am confident our best years lie ahead of us and that together we will continue to make Apple the magical place that it is.

Tim

Image

Nice, he squeezed in 'magic' right there at the end.
Clearly, they will all be following the Book of Jobs.

 

[CBGFilms]

Glass Staircase

That glass staircase is in the Regent Street Apple Store!

 

[jav6454]

No Pixar patents?

Pixar mainly creates movies out of Apple software. Moreover, Jobs is no longer owner of Pixar, Disney is.

 

[silentnite]

You gotta love this guy. Brilliant man he is. Even the competition must admit he gave em hell

 

[JAQ]

This reflects two aspects of Jobs' personality: 1) his hands-on involvement in the details of his business, and 2) his self-image in wanting credit for it.

 

[sclawis300]

Who is this Bartley Andre guy? He is everywhere on these things.

 

[Coarseman]

Who is this Bartley Andre guy? He is everywhere on these things.

Was wondering exactly the same thing..
Is this a real person at all?

 

[jmoore5196]

One of Steve Jobs' role models was Edwin Land. Land was the second-most prolific inventor in American history after Thomas Edison ... if you've work polarized sunglasses or used a Polaroid instant camera, you used something Land invented.

Jobs actually met Land a couple of times (if there were no other reason, that would automatically make Steve an object of my esteem) and - in my estimation - patterned much of Apple's product development over the past decade on the model Polaroid pioneered some decades before.

The difference: Jobs learned from Land's mistakes. The clear succession path - which did not exist at Polaroid until shareholders forced the issue - is an example. Apple will continue to innovate and be relevant; all of us who use Apple products have good reason to be thankful for Steve Jobs' tenure. He sowed the whirlwind of accomplishment that we'll see in years ahead. I think Jobs is right: Apple's best days lie ahead.

 

[razmaspaz]

Pixar mainly creates movies out of Apple software. Moreover, Jobs is no longer owner of Pixar, Disney is.

Uh,
First off no, they don't create movies out of Apple software, they create movies using renderman, maya and a host of other 3D tools that Apple does not produce. They edit them on Final Cut. Additionally the tech that Pixar pioneered would have required a host of engineering and I'm shocked that Steve's name isn't on any of the patents. You think they didn't have to solve complex problems with render farms, 3d shading, digital mapping, or production process? He may no longer "own" it, but he was CEO for a long time. He doesn't "own" Apple either, but that didn't stop him there.

 

[imageWIS]

Just because his name appears on the patents, doesn't mean he did any of the actual engineering work to make the patent... you know the 'actual' work. Tons of engineers, programs, etc... worked on those 313 patents, and I bet their names don't appear anywhere on the patent papers.

 

[nskinsella]

There is no such thing as a "lead inventor"

I've written and prosecuted hundreds of patent applications. You just have to list all the inventors. The order is legally insignificant.

 

[croooow]

I have a wood staircase patent

 

[nskinsella]

Just because his name appears on the patents, doesn't mean he did any of the actual engineering work to make the patent... you know the 'actual' work. Tons of engineers, programs, etc... worked on those 313 patents, and I bet their names don't appear anywhere on the patent papers.

This is likely false. The patent statute requires all inventors, and ONLY inventors, to be listed. Listing someone as an inventor who is not can invalidate the patent, as can omitting someone. Patent attorneys are usually careful to investigate the inventorship issue. Otherwise the patent may be jeopardized.