Scientist and independent Australian inventor Kia Silverbrook was born in 1958. He is one of the most prolific inventors in history[1] and, as of February 14, 2022, had received 4,747[2] US utility patents. He has 9,874[3] patents or patent applications filed internationally, according to the international patent document database (INPADOC). [a] In a variety of fields, including computer graphics, video and audio production, scientific computing, factory automation, digital printing, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), molecular electronics, internet software, content management, genetic analysis, MEMS devices, security inks, photovoltaic solar cells, and interactive paper, Silverbrook has founded businesses and created products. [4]
In This Article...
Which business did Silverbrook initially work for?
He began working with Fairlight Instruments in 1977, the company that created the Fairlight CMI, the original polyphonic digital sampling synthesizer. He created and developed the Fairlight CVI, a real-time video effects computer, while he was at Fairlight, which was released in 1984. [5] Up until 1985, he was still working for Fairlight Instruments.
Silverbrook established Integrated Arts, a company that uses the Inmostransputer for parallel processing and computer graphics, in 1985. Up until 1990, Silverbrook served as Integrated Arts’ Managing Director, the Australian counterpart of the US CEO.
The Japanese electronics manufacturer Canon established a research division in Australia in 1990 under the name Canon Information Systems Research Australia (CiSRA).
[6] From the organization’s establishment until 1994, Silverbrook served as its executive director.
Who has ever held the most patents?
According to the archives, the following five people have been assigned the most patents:
- Silverbrook, Kia As of April 2011, there are 3,800 U.S. patents that have been granted to him. Kia has amassed 11,146 patents since obtaining his first one in 1990; 9,000 of those are patents or applications that are now listed in the International Patent Document Database.
- Yamazaki Shunpei
- Shunpei now holds the record for holding the most patents, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. His 9,700 total patents globally and 2,591 United States utility patents were all granted over the course of more than 40 years of invention.
- Trump Weder
- Donald has established himself as a dominant figure in the flower industry with 951 U.S. utility patents. Outside of this industry, not many people will be familiar with him, but in addition to the utility patents he was awarded, he also owns 409 U.S. design patents and 2,441 patents worldwide.
- Lapstun, Paul
- He is an Australian innovator, similar to Kia Silverbrook, who helped propel Memjet to the top of the printing industry by co-patenting the inkjet print engine with wide-format. Paul has 3,379 patents in total, including 951 that have been issued in the US.
- Forbes, Leonard
- The native Canadian currently owns and runs a solar cell technology consulting business in Oregon. His 2,010 patents globally and 946 U.S. utility patents that have been awarded primarily deal with semiconductor memories and thin film materials and techniques.
Who is the world’s greatest inventor?
First, Thomas Edison (18471931) More than a thousand patent applications were made by Edison. From the phonograph and motion picture camera to the electric light bulb, he created and invented a variety of goods.
The Wright Brothers 2.
demonstrated that man could fly by successfully designing, constructing, and flying the first powered airplane. one of the 20th century’s most significant inventions.
3. Benjamin Franklin (17051790), a multi-talented individual who made the Franklin stove and discovered electricity.
4. Nikola Tesla, a scientist from Serbia who immigrated to the US (185611943). Through the AC induction motor, transformer, and Tesla coil, he was a bright scientist who made a significant contribution to the creation of AC energy. The world’s use of AC electricity has been modeled after his approach.
5. Charles Babbage (17911871) built the original mechanical computer, which served as the model for later models. known as the “Father of Computers.”
James Watt (17361819) was the creator of the steam engine, a key component of the industrial revolution. The effectiveness of steam was significantly increased by his creation of a separate condensing chamber.
Bell, Alexander (18471922) the man who is credited with creating the first useful telephone. worked on aeronautics, hydrofoils, and optical telecommunications as well.
Da Vinci, Leonardo (14521519) one of the finest minds of all time. Three hundred and fifty years later, models he created still functioned.
9. Galileo (15641642) created a potent telescope and supported ground-breaking hypotheses on how the world works. furthermore created a better compass.
Tim Berners Lee 10. created the http:// protocol for the internet, enabling open access to the World Wide Web.
What is the priciest patent?
The following is Severin de Wit’s speech from the “DSM SPECIAL INVENTION REWARD,” which was presented on January 9, 2007, at Rosmalen, Netherlands’ “Huis van de Toekomst.” We post the content here since it is still relevant today.
I’m honored to be able to see the DSM Special Invention Reward being given out today. This esteemed honor is granted to chosen DSM researchers whose outstanding scientific discoveries have generated a distinct line of business for DSM and have proved patentable. Today, the most important inventions from DSM and their inventors are being honored. Taking you back in time to illustrate the connection between patents and innovation is a fitting theme for today’s celebrations. Let’s examine what we can take away from what happened yesterday for tomorrow.
Inventions that top the list of hypothetical innovations, the best of the best, can be read about at this time of year, according to publications like TIME “Best Inventions 2006 lists hypoallergenic cats, a hydrogen bomber, a new method of drying your wet umbrella, and YouTube as the year’s top inventions.
People often imagine traveling to Mars, achieving immortality in a bottle, or using a smarter internet when they think of advancements. In actuality, the greatest inventions of all time are those that consider how much people actually use their creations. As noted by David Edgerton in his book: “As revolutionary an invention as the microprocessor, corrugated iron was first patented in 1829 to provide protection for cargo being held in London’s harbor. Today, it is used for walls, roofs, and even to collect rainwater. It spread around the world and had a more significant impact on our lives than the newest, hottest technologies.
So let’s look back in history to see what patents and breakthroughs have in common and what we can infer from them.
Many of the English customs persisted in American hearts and minds after the American Revolutionary War with Britain. One of these essential beliefs was that innovation was encouraged by patent protection. With a history dating back to 1449, when Henry VI granted Flemish glassmaker John of Utynam a letter patent granting him a twenty-year monopoly on the method used to create the colored glass windows at Eaton College, Britain had the longest continuous patent protection in the world by the late 1700s.
The first American President, George Washington, made developing a functional patent system a high priority following American Independence. He urged Congress to pass legislation to promote the introduction of new discoveries from abroad and stimulate their creation domestically in his first State of the Union address on January 8, 1790. The first Patent Act was swiftly passed by Congress in April of the same year.
The Patent Act gave the granting of a patent the utmost priority. The Patent Office did not exist. Instead, President George Washington and three senior cabinet membersSecretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of War Henry Knox, and Attorney General Edmund Randolphwere in charge of issuing patents. Every month on the last Saturday, they got together to discuss patent requests. A patent letter was ready for George Washington’s personal signature if two out of the three judges approved.
Jefferson was taken aback by how many advances the first patent statute spurred. The three-member Board received more invention submissions than it could handle. The first patent act got off to a bad start because there were too many innovators who despised the system because it took so long for their innovations to be patented. Furthermore, it was incredibly challenging to obtain a patent because one was rejected for every one that was granted.
More adaptable than the original 1790 Act, a new patent system was required. The result was the Patent Act of 1836, which eventually served as the basis for the current patent system. It included appointing a Commissioner of Patents and creating a sizable library of scientific literature. The new Law signaled a significant shift in economic history. It sparked a significant wave of ground-breaking inventions, including:
- Thomas Davenport invented power tools in 1837 when he developed an electric motor that could drive shop equipment.
- A patent for a method of “vulcanizing rubber, creating a malleable material unaffected by temperature, was issued to Charles Goodyear in 1844.
- Elisha Graves Otis debuted his revolutionary elevator safety braking mechanism in 1854 at the Crystal Palace Hotel in New York, effectively creating the first safe elevator and revolutionizing urban planning throughout the world.
Major discoveries at the period drastically altered life and gave rise to completely new industries that men had never heard of. However, it came at a very high cost because well-known inventors either had to struggle to have their patent recognized and upheld, or they were so avaricious and confident in the power of their discoveries that they refused to share them for fair fees.
Samuel Morse is a well-known portrait artist and NYU professor of literature and art. This is a colored drawing of a railway telegraph by Morse from around 1838. He developed the first workable telegraph, which contributed to the development of an entirely new communications sector. Morse submitted his patent application in 1838, and two years later was granted a patent.
He transmitted the now-famous message, “what hath God Wrought,” to a small group in Baltimore on May 11, 1844, from a room of the US Supreme Court, chosen by the daughter of the US Commissioner of Patents. Even though he spent years in patent litigation, he eventually received compensation for his efforts and prospered in his latter years.
History has also demonstrated that a wonderful invention that results in a valuable patent does not necessarily solve the problem. The tale of Eli Whitney and one of his most well-known inventions, the cotton gin, is among the best examples.
He essentially happened upon his invention. He received an invitation to work as a tutor for a wealthy plantation owner in South Carolina. A significant issue of the time was casually brought up to him upon his arrival in Savannah.
Short strands of the green cotton they were cultivating had seeds that were securely affixed to the thread. If the seeds were removed, the fiber would have been valued. A significant, intractable issue faced all plantation owners and significant cotton growers. Cotton was a simple plant to produce and to harvest, but it was challenging to separate the fiber from the seeds. The landowner’s call for Whitney, who had never seen cotton in his life, to come up with something novel, captured his attention. Finally, Whitney arrived with a “gin.
The southern agricultural states experienced an instantaneous change in wealth, becoming one of the richest regions in the nation. The gin was simple to prepare.
In 1794, Whitney received his patent. Whitney and Miller, his former host and current business supporter, did not realize at the time that smart licensing of a good invention brings much more gain than trying to own all the cotton gins, which is something that is very familiar in our day and age, but then again, we have learned the benefits of a “open innovation.” Whitney and Miller’s imposed steep fees on anyone wishing to make use of the technology. Competing cotton producers copied Whitney’s product because the price was too high. Whitney learned the hard way that those who discover anything important are doomed to a life in court, especially in light of the lax and ambiguous patent laws. An invention can be so valuable as to be worthless to the inventor, as Whitney had to contend in court to have it upheld. He had to learn the hard way that a patent’s marketing and licensing potential are just as important as the invention itself.
Another thing that can be understood from history is that for an innovation to succeed, there needs to be a supportive company culture and business leaders who have faith in the invention.
The US patent no. 174,465, which identified Alexander Graham Bell as the telephone’s sole inventor and is now referred to as “the single most valuable patent ever issued in history of the globe,” was granted to him. Less well known is the fact that Bell presented his idea to Gardiner G. Hubbard, a well-known Boston lawyer and businessman. Hubbard, who was knowledgeable with wire communications and what they meant politically at the time, assisted Bell in getting sound commercial and political advice. Hubbard acquired the resources Bell lacked to create the largest telecom monopoly of its era, including cash, political clout, and, most importantly, commercial acumen. Few individuals quickly understood its potential even after Bell received his patent.
Bell was also given the chance by Hubbard to display his phone in the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, a significant event. Bell gave Hubbard the freedom to undertake the necessary preparations for the patent’s ownership and the founding of a new business to further its development. Hubbard set up a trust and issued 5,000 shares of stock through it. Bell split the equity with Thomas Watson, Hubbard, his assistant, and Thomas Sanders, another important person who helped turn Bell’s idea into a commercial success, the Bell Telephone Company.
- Without the legal protection provided by effective patent laws, innovation cannot flourish.
- that healthy and stable corporate ecosystems are necessary for outstanding inventions.
- that inventive enforcement methods developed by experts in intellectual property are required for ground-breaking inventions. Whitney discovered the hard way that while smart licensing can improve the chances of the idea, being greedy and seeking to be exclusive can backfire.
We have already witnessed the positive effects that amazing technologies have had on our welfare and wellbeing. Without the granting of a patent, Whitney, Morse, and Bell would not have achieved their prominence. But neither an innovation nor the single application of a patent can lead to significant corporate success. Both are dependent on the other.
Intellectual property is frequently taken for granted. The 21st century will demonstrate that those that are best equipped with clever intellectual property strategies will be the future generation’s winners in a time of global challenges from low-cost manufacturing countries, like China and India, just as Whitney, Bell, and Morse learnt their lessons. Here’s a quick explanation,
Why do you think President Bush consistently prioritizes intellectual property while visiting China? is my go-to question to students at the Rotterdam School of Management.
The first thing that comes to mind is that the consumer electronics, food, and fashion industries are exerting pressure on this. Yes, Louis Vuitton deserves to be shielded against copycats that use its designs. Bush, however, was unable to delegate this to Chirac. The true reason is that intellectual property, particularly patents, have been identified by policymakers as the best defense against the low manufacturing threat posed by China and India. China’s status as the “workshop of the world” is based on a considerable cost-savings advantage in manufacturing. The west has, in general, fallen behind in the manufacturing race. Products created in China compete with those from Europe and America on their respective marketplaces.
Despite the fact that the majority of China’s present technology-based product production still comes from the west through manufacturing outsourcing, many Chinese operators are moving away from the OEM model and beginning to introduce their products under their own brands in western markets. Safeguards and anti-dumping levies have historically been used to combat the influx of inexpensive goods, but the WTO accords place limitations on these tools and their use. Although they can momentarily narrow the price gap between domestically produced goods and imports, they do not eliminate it over time. Knowledge-based economies dominate in the West. R&D activities have a long history of being turned into patents. In China, this is different. As a result, Chinese businesses that want to sell their products in the western market often need to license technology. The fundamental cost of such products may dramatically increase due to the royalties payable under such agreements. This lessens the Chinese exporters’ comparative advantage, which is now mostly supported by reduced manufacturing costs. And that opens up some intriguing opportunities to control the influx of Chinese goods.
Therefore, it’s possible that old trade regulatory tools are being replaced by standards and patents in the future. This gives patents a new and difficult meaning as a potent tool against inexpensive Chinese imports.
When DSM Dyneema faced a threat to its robust ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene Dyneema, they ran into this issue. To thwart the Chinese, they utilized their patent to sue Hangzhou Pivot International Co Ltd of Hangzhou in France. It goes beyond merely declaring intellectual property. Using Western knowledge-based intellectual property to establish a higher bar for Chinese entry into the European and US markets is a matter of public policy. Due to the same reason, Europe established its own system of EU border control by copying the US International Trade Commission’s authority to prevent the importation of products into the EU by using patents for Customs.
Therefore, intellectual property and patents are more than just a way for firms like DSM to get paid for their R&D expenditures. It develops into a tool for influencing public policy that can be used on the global market. Bush has prioritized IP because of this. That is also the reason why forward-thinking businesses like DSM would prioritize intellectual property in their corporate policies.
And what can a firm like DSM accomplish in this new game of IP policy if it does not have access to creative inventors who will finally allow it to engage in this economic power play on the global markets? DSM has demonstrated what a creative mind and a clever IP are capable of. And it is this that we honor today.
The stealing of Ideas in an Age of Globalization by Pat Choate from Hot Property was as inspiration for some of the material in this talk.
A new York Newsweek, “Invention, Slow and Steady,” January 8, 2007, David Edgerton. Alfred A. Knopf (2005).