Patent Law

Steve Jobs Has His Name on 313 Apple Patents, Outpacing Other High-Tech Leaders

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Steve Jobs’ wide-reaching influence at Apple is evident in the 313 patents that bear his name.

Other leaders of high-tech companies generally have their names on far fewer patents, the New York Times reports. Bill Gates has his name on nine Microsoft patents, while Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have their names on slightly more than a dozen patents.

Jobs, who resigned as Apple’s chief executive on Wednesday, is named mostly on design patents for the look and feel of products. Experts told the Times it can’t be a public relations ploy because a patent could be invalidated if it has the name of someone who didn’t participate.

Jobs’ patented products include Apple stores’ glass staircases, white plastic power adapters for newer Macs, iPod headset lanyards, plastic clasps for cords, iPod packaging, and “model after model of desktop and laptop computers, monitors, mice, keyboards, mobile devices and media players,” the Times says.

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