is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese inventor in the field of computer science

Computer science

Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...

 and solid-state physics

Solid-state physics

Solid-state physics is the study of rigid matter, or solids, through methods such as quantum mechanics, crystallography, electromagnetism, and metallurgy. It is the largest branch of condensed matter physics. Solid-state physics studies how the large-scale properties of solid materials result from...

. He holds over 2,647 U.S. utility patent

Patent

A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....

s, and in 2005 he was named as most prolific inventor in history by USA Today. Yamazaki was subsequently passed by Kia Silverbrook

Kia Silverbrook

Kia Silverbrook is an Australian inventor, scientist, and serial entrepreneur. He is the world's most prolific inventor with 4,097 granted U.S. utility patents as of 23 August 2011...

 on February 26, 2008.

Awards

• National Invention Award, Japan Institute of Invention (1976)
• American Ceramic Society Awards (1984)
• Kou Tamotsu Red Cross Gold Award (1984)
• Kato Memorial Science Foundation Prize (1985)
• Science and Technology Agency Award (1990)
• Prime Minister's Medal (1995)
• Prime Minister's Purple Ribbon (1997)

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory

Yamazaki is the president and majority shareholder of research company Semiconductor Energy Laboratory (SEL) in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

. Most of the patents he holds are in relation to computer display

Computer display

A monitor or display is an electronic visual display for computers. The monitor comprises the display device, circuitry, and an enclosure...

 technology and held by SEL, with Yamazaki named either individually or jointly as inventor. Since 1996, SEL has appeared in the Intellectual Property Owners Association

Intellectual Property Owners Association

The Intellectual Property Owners Association is a trade association that is composed of owners of intellectual property and other parties interested in intellectual property law...

 annual listings of the top global companies ranked by US patents:

Year	IPO Intellectual Property Owners Association The Intellectual Property Owners Association is a trade association that is composed of owners of intellectual property and other parties interested in intellectual property law...  Rank	U.S. Patents
1996	124	90
1997	110	97
1998	112	127
1999	83	184
2000	96	155
2001	84	209
2002	76	246
2003	65	273
2004	60	336
2005	61	292
2006	55	405
2007	49	413
2008	40	468
2009	33	545
2010	36	734

SEL v Samsung

In 1996, SEL was involved in a patent case against Samsung. District court has found that SEL patent 5,543,636 is not enforceable because of inequitable conduct

Inequitable conduct

In United States patent law, inequitable conduct is a defense to allegations of patent infringement. Even in the instance that a patent is valid and infringed, the court ruling on infringement may exercise its equitable discretion not to enforce the patent if the patentee has engaged in inequitable...

on the part of SEL (in particular, it was found that SEL had intentionally withheld one of the references, and had intentionally misled the examiner, with deceitful intent). In 2000, decision of district court has been affirmed by United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co. v. Samsung Electronics Co., 204 F.3d 1368, 1374, 54 USPQ2d 1001, 1005 (Fed. Cir. 2000).

Aftermath

This case has had important implications on US patent processes. In particular, the court has held that "withheld reference may be highly material when it discloses a more complete combination of relevant features, even if those features are before the patent examiner in other references." Based in part on this case, the Patent Office suggests that patent applicants "evaluate the materiality of prior art or other information from the viewpoint of whether it is the closest prior art or other information" and "that an attorney or agent make sure that foreign clients, including foreign applicants, attorneys, and agents understand the requirements of the duty of disclosure, and that the U.S. attorney or agent review any information disclosure statements or citations to ensure that compliance with 37 CFR 1.56 is present".