pioneer != inventor

He’s listed as inventor on hundreds of patents. I think that qualifies.

Its not surprising that Jobs would be included on patents that were filed by people who worked for or with him. He was known to be mean and pushy and could easily force his name to be included.

Do we know of one thing that Jobs actually invented or co-invented, or was he always the marketer?

Hundreds of things. Peyton just told you that. But you like the idea of Jobs being a “conman” better than the truth so why disabuse you of the notion?

In case you’re wondering, filing a patent with an improperly listed inventor is fraud and invalidates the patent. Every patent app includes a signed oath and declaration by the inventors that they did indeed invent it.

The idea that Jobs didn’t have direct input on the functionality of novel features of Apple products is beyond absurd.

Aside from the fact that he was notoriously hands-on, Apple has been coasting on his achievements and direction for over a decade now.

Look at the post-Jobs Apple. It's just been step-wise refinement.

> He was known to be mean and pushy and could easily force his name to be included.

He was also very closely involved with every aspect of the products Apple was developing. Just watch any of his interviews. He knew all the details: technical, design, marketing.

So yeah, I'm not surprised he has his name on patents.

You can't force your name onto a patent, it's invalid if the inventor list is falsified.

That's not the point. You can contribute to an invention in a completely unimportant/replaceable way, and still be a contributing inventor.

If you’re going to make that distinction, shouldn’t you also cite quotations where Jobs makes the claim to specifically be the inventor? It seems the charge in this thread depends on blurring that boundary such that marketing on behalf of the company on stage and in interviews is equated with claims of being an inventor.

Nobody said he claimed he was an inventor. I think we all agree that he was a pioneer, but not an inventor.

Recap (paraphrased):

"Jobs never invented anything"

"He was a pioneer"

"pioneer != inventor"

"You have to show proof that he claimed he was an inventor!"

"Nobody said he claimed he was an inventor."

It was said above that he was “playing the role” of being an inventor, and this observation was directly juxtaposed against a con man.

Ah, I see. Yeah, I wouldn't accuse him of that.

I was taking the "reality distortion field" talk to refer to the cultlike status Job's fandom reached at its peak, where the "famous for being famous" effect came into play. I don't think he qualifies as a con man, and I don't think he claimed personal credit for the inventions of others (he never "took the initiative and invented the internet" like Al Gore).