How many patents Bill Gates own? – Bill Gates Patent Portfolio

Bill Gates

Founder, Microsoft
United States

Bill Gates, a name synonymous with the PC revolution, illustrates those who need no introduction.

Bill Gates is an American computer programmer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who co-founded Microsoft Corporation, a globally renowned software company. As per Forbes, his net worth is $129.9 B as of April, 2024. Apart from this, he is also known for his charitable work through the organization, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, for funding the global health programs. He has also been awarded as the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the year 2016 along with several other awards. For detailed list of the awards and recognition, click here.

Bill Gates’s portfolio has 365 patents belonging to 106 unique patent families. His patents belong to diverse technological domains such as Data Processing, Healthcare, Networking & Communication, Vehicle Technology and Renewable Energy.

Total Patents

365

Granted Patents

73

Associated Companies

Microsoft, Breakthrough Energy

Field of Invention

Software and Technology

How many patents does other industry leaders have

Key Patents of Bill Gates

“The advance of technology is based on making it fit in so that you don’t really even notice it, so it’s part of everyday life”

This quote by Bill Gates summarizes the innovations and technological advancements brought to reality by the man himself. Given below are some of the key inventions by Bill Gates:

S.No. Publication Number Title First Filing Year Tech Area
1 US7930197B2 Personal data mining 2006 Data Processing
2 US20080080396A1 Marketplace for cloud…. 2006 Cloud Computing
3 US20080004951A1   Web-based targeted…. 2006 Marketing  
4 US20110282415A1   Wearable wireless power…. 2010 Wearable
5 US20080005313A1   Using offline activity to…. 2006 Data Processing  

Join us in this venture to uncover the diverse technological areas Bill Gates has patented inventions in. This article also discloses the patent filing trend, worldwide filing and research centers along with several other insights mined through the patent data set for the renowned inventor.

The data of inventors patents made available here is solely intended for informational purposes. Although we make every effort to maintain the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the provided information, we cannot guarantee that all data is completely free of errors or entirely up-to-date. If you happen to be the Inventor and wish to contribute additional data for your respective portfolio, kindly get in touch with us.

How Many Patents did Bill Gates File Every Year?

Bill gates - patent filing trend

Are you wondering why there is a drop in patent filing for the last two years? It is because a patent application can take up to 18 months to get published. Certainly, it doesn’t suggest a decrease in the patent filing.

Year of Patents Filing or Grant Bill Gates Applications Filed Bill Gates Patents Granted
2022 1
2021 1 1
2020 3
2019 4 7
2018 6 8
2017 7 11
2016 15 11
2015 24 4
2014 15 10
2013 30 6
2012 35 3

How Many Bill Gates patents are Alive/Dead?

Worldwide Patents

Bill gates - patent portfolio

How Many Patents did Bill Gates File in Different Countries?

Bill gates - worldwide patent filing

Countries in which Bill Gates Filed Patents

Country Patents
United States of America 286
Europe 19
China 12
Korea (South) 4
India 4
Japan 2
United Kingdom 2
Canada 1
Germany 1
Hong Kong (S.A.R.) 1

Which Technologies are covered by Bill Gates’s Patents?

Our analysis of the Bill Gates patent portfolio revealed no design patents owned by Bill Gates. However, the patents span diverse technological domains as illustrated in the chart below.

Bill gates - technology area

We also came across few intriguing inventions in the Bill Gates patent portfolio. Read the summary of these ingenious innovations that showcase the incredible diversity of Bill Gates’s technological ventures.

A surprising method for generating electricity from plants is hidden in the patent, US20140187425A1. Imagine plants which use less water and capture more carbon dioxide from air to produce electricity. That’s the idea behind this invention. By giving the plants a special solution with at least 0.1% CO2, the plants can capture carbon dioxide which is then used for generation of electricity.

This patent, US9648309B2, describes a display that creates 3D images without any special glasses. The display screen is packed with millions of tiny pixels where each pixel shows two separate images for each eye. Then, the optical deflection system, comes in to direct the left eye image to the left eye and the right eye image to the right eye transforming the flat screen into 3D visuals.

A clever invention for controlling vehicle tire pressure is disclosed in the patent, US9511634B2. The system uses a built-in road sensor, a pressure regulator and a controller. By analysing the road conditions, the system automatically adjusts the air pressure in the car tires. This means smoother rides and increased safety thanks to the tires which are inflated just right.

Imagine a futuristic bandaid which helps in efficient release and absorption of the medicine on the skin. Well, this is exactly what the patent, US20170319841A1, discloses. The special patch includes a built-in ultrasound emitter which generates gentle soundwaves for opening up the skin a little bit for allowing absorption of the medicine and it all comes without any side-effects too!

Well, this sums up the interesting summaries of the fascinating patents we discovered during our analysis. Keep reading to get more informative insights we mined through the Bill Gates patent portfolio.

The chart below distributes patents filed by Bill Gates in different countries on the basis of the technology protected in patents. It also represents the markets where Bill Gates thinks it’s important to protect particular technology inventions.

Bill gates - technology protected in different countries

R&D Focus: How Bill Gates Research Focus Changes Over the Years?

Bill gates - technology through years

10 Best Bill Gates Patents

US7930197B2 is the most popular patent in the Bill Gates’s portfolio. It has received 568 citations so far from companies like Apple, Philips and IBM.

Below is the list of 10 most cited patents of Bill Gates:

Publication Number Citation Count
US7930197B2 568
US20080080396A1 410
US20080004951A1 295
US20110282415A1 291
US20080005313A1 281
US20150242091A1 275
US20080004884A1 270
US20080005057A1 268
US20080005223A1 240
US20080091613A1 233

How Many Inventions of Other Companies were rejected due to Bill Gates’s Patents?

The statistics below share strategic R&D insights. It tells the companies that were trying to protect inventions similar to Bill Gates’s invention. They couldn’t because Bill Gates had protected those before them.

Examiners at the USPTO referred 163 Bill Gates patents in 1191 rejections (35 USC § 102 or 35 USC § 103 types).

The top citing companies in the Bill Gates patent portfolio are IBM, Google and Red Hat Inc.

List of the Companies whose Patents were rejected citing Bill Gates–

Company Number of Patent Applications that faced Rejection Citing Bill Gates Patents Number of Rejections (102 & 103)
IBM 41 100
Google 33 59
Red Hat Inc 15 45
Samsung 11 28
Amazon 8 24
Ebay Inc 7 11
Intel Corporation 7 16
Nokia 7 16
Ford 6 12
Kyndryl Inc 6 13

Count of 102 and 103 Type Rejections based on Bill Gates Patents

Bill gates - blocked patent applications

Top Bill Gates Patents used in Rejecting Most Patent Applications

Patent Number Count of Rejected Applications
US20080004951A1 24
US20080080396A1 23
US20130144603A1 22
US8725567B2 16
US20130141576A1 15
US8474027B2 13
US20080005072A1 13
US8705746B2 13
US20080005313A1 13
US20080104393A1 11
US8601598B2 10
US20150336578A1 10
US20080005068A1 10
US20140040039A1 9
US20080005223A1 9

Interested in learning more about Microsoft patents? We’ve got you covered. Click here to explore our informative articles.

Related Articles

Shunpei Yamazaki Patents – Insights and Stats (Updated 2024)

Shunpei Yamazaki is a pioneering Japanese inventor who created the basic device for flash memory while studying at Doshisha University in 1970. His ground-breaking work in non-volatile memory technology laid the foundation for many modern electronics. After earning his Ph.D. in Engineering, Yamazaki founded Semiconductor Energy Laboratory in 1980, where

Read More »

Was this article helpful?

Leave a Comment

Fill the form to get the details:

Fill the form to get the details:

Our comprehensive report provides an in-depth look into the patent portfolio. The report includes a breakdown of the patent portfolio across various technologies, listing the patent along with brief summaries of each patent's technology.