The National Inventors Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award honors individuals who have made significant contributions to invention and the American system of intellectual property protection. Recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award:

2009 Andrew S. Grove, Semiconductor industry executive
2008 Riccardo Giacconi, Astrophysicist
2007 Michael DeBakey*, Physician and medical innovator
2006 Michael Kirk, Intellectual property attorney
2006 John Ong, Aerospace and chemical company executive
2005 Donald Banner*, Intellectual property attorney
2004 Arnold Beckman*, Medical instrumentation executive and philanthropist
2004 Tom Arnold*, Intellectual property attorney
2003 John Glenn, Senator
2002 William Baker*, Industrial research executive
2002 James Hillier*, Industrial research executive and physicist
2001 Howard Markey*, Intellectual property jurist
2000 Isaac Fleischmann*, USPTO official

* deceased