A Look at Steve Jobs' 313 Apple Patents

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.

jobs glass staircase patent
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.

Top Rated Comments

MorphingDragon Avatar
151 months ago
313 patents? That's like Edison all over again..

Yes but Jobs didn't have Tesla to copy off. :D
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jmoore5196 Avatar
151 months ago
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.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacSince1990 Avatar
151 months ago
Yes but Jobs didn't have Tesla to copy off. :D

No, he had Xerox ;)
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nskinsella Avatar
151 months ago
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.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
markcres Avatar
151 months ago
Glass staircase :rolleyes:
Could be a pervert's dream lying underneath while pretty girls in skirts walk up :o
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
razmaspaz Avatar
151 months ago
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.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro Buttons CAD Leak

iPhone 15 Pro Low-Energy Chip to Allow Solid-State Buttons to Work When Device is Off or Out of Battery

Wednesday March 29, 2023 1:54 am PDT by
The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will use a new ultra-low energy microprocessor allowing certain features like the new capacitive solid-state buttons to remain functional even when the handset is powered off or the battery has run out, according to a source that shared details on the MacRumors forums. CAD-based render of new solid-state buttons on iPhone 15 Pro models The source of this rumor is ...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2023 Event Taking Place June 5 to 9

Wednesday March 29, 2023 9:58 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 34th annual Worldwide Developers Conference will take place from Monday, June 5 to Friday, June 9. Like WWDC 2020, 2021, and 2022, WWDC 2023 will be an online event for the most part, and it will be open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple will provide online sessions and labs, which will allow...
iPhone 15 Pro Multi Purpose button Mute Switch Feature Green 2

iPhone 15 Pro Rumored to Feature Multi-Use Action Button Instead of Mute Switch

Wednesday March 29, 2023 7:28 am PDT by
iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models are rumored to feature a customizable Action button like the Apple Watch Ultra, according to a MacRumors forum member who leaked accurate details about the Dynamic Island on iPhone 14 Pro models last year. The source claimed the Action button will replace the Ring/Silent switch that has been included on every iPhone model since 2007. They did not...
iOS 16

Apple Releases iOS 16.4 With New Emoji, Safari Web Push Notifications, Beta Changes, Voice Isolation for Calls and More

Monday March 27, 2023 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 16.4, the fourth major update to the iOS 16 operating system that initially came out last September. iOS 16.4 comes two months after the launch of iOS 16.3, an update that added Security Keys for Apple ID. iOS 16‌.4 and iPadOS 16.4 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. It can take a few minutes...
Apple Music Classical

Apple Explains Why It Launched an iPhone App Dedicated to Classical Music

Monday March 27, 2023 8:54 pm PDT by
Apple today published a support document explaining why it decided to release a standalone Apple Music Classical app for classical music. In short, Apple says the app was designed to support classical music's complex metadata:Classical music is different. It has longer and more detailed titles, multiple artists for each work, and hundreds of recordings of well-known pieces. The Apple Music...
iOS 16

Apple Seeds First Betas of iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5

Tuesday March 28, 2023 10:15 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a day after the launch of iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4. Registered developers can opt in to the betas by opening up the Settings app, going to Software Update, tapping on the "Beta Updates" option and toggling on the iOS 16 Developer Beta. Note that an...
home upgrade available feature

PSA: Apple Has Made Its New Home Architecture Update Available Again

Tuesday March 28, 2023 1:50 am PDT by
Apple has made the option to upgrade to new Home architecture available again with the release of iOS 16.4, iPadOS 16.4, and macOS Ventura 13.3, after it temporarily pulled the update in December. After updating Apple devices to the latest software, users can once again opt to upgrade any homes set up in the Home app to the new Home architecture, which Apple says brings faster, more reliable ...