Dr. John D. Craig, Superintendent of Patents, June 11, 1829 to January 31, 1835. Patents granted this year, 447. Patents granted this year, 544. 1830 June 21.-Cyrus H. McCormick of Virginia receives a United States 1834 patent for his reaper. McCormick's invention, one of America's greatest contributions to agricultural advance, makes the vast grain fields of the West available for full production and assures a sufficient supply of cereals for the world's needs. Patents granted this year, 630. December 31.-John Ruggles, newly appointed Senator from Maine, 1835 moves that the Senate appoint a committee to study the Patent Office with a view to making changes in the existing laws. concurs, and appoints Ruggles Chairman. The Senate J. C. Pickett, Superintendent of Patents, February 1, 1835 to April 30, 1835. Henry L. Ellsworth, Superintendent of Patents, July 1, 1835 to July 4, 1836. Patents granted this year, 752. February 25.-Samuel Colt, of Hartford, Conn., receives a patent 1836 on a "Revolving Gun." This is the first of the famous "Six-shooters, which are to play such an important role in the winning of the West. * * * March.-Texas dissolves its ties with Mexico and becomes an independent republic. Article 2, section 3 of its constitution gives its Congress the power "to grant patents and copyrights and to secure to the authors and inventors the exclusive use thereof for a limited time." April 28.-John Ruggles, Senator from Maine, completes his report on the patent laws, declaring that: "For more than 40 years the Department of State has issued patents on every application, without any examination into the merits or novelty of the invention. "Many patents granted are worthless and void and conflict upon one another, and a great many law suits arise from this condition. "Frauds develop. People copy existing patents, make slight changes, and are granted patents. "Patents have become of little value, and the object of the patent laws is in great measure defeated." John Ruggles, through whose efforts the patent laws were to be so successfully revised, was born in Westboro, Mass., in 1789. After graduating from Brown University in 1813 he moved to Thomaston, Maine, where he practiced law until elected a member of the 1836 State legislature. He was later appointed to the State supreme court, and in 1835 was elected for one term as United States Senator. On leaving Washington in 1841 he returned to his law practice in Maine. He died at Thomaston in 1874. ACT OF JULY 4 VITAL CHANGES ARE MADE IN THE PATENT LAWS The Act of 1836 reestablishes the so-called "American" system of granting patents, and creates the machinery for administering the system properly. With the exception of the original Act of 1790, this is the most important patent law ever enacted by the United States. The patent laws of today, in broader outline, are based upon the principles set forth in this act. The Act of 1836 reestablishes the "examination" system in effect before 1793. Once again it becomes necessary to determine the novelty and the usefulness of a patent application. Once again the "prior art"-that which has been invented or used before must be searched to determine whether a patent may be granted. The personnel for conducting this work is provided, and the Patent Office becomes a separate bureau under its own chief. As a result the patent system functions smoothly, the courts are relieved of countless unnecessary patent cases, and a patent becomes a far more valuable asset to its owner. Some provisions of the Act of 1836: The Patent Office is established by law as a distinct and separate bureau in the Department of State. The Office is placed in charge of a chief to be known as the Commissioner of Patents, appointed by the President by and with the approval of the Senate. The Commissioner's salary is $3,000 a year. The Commissioner is to execute and superintend all matters concerning patents, and is to appoint a chief clerk, an examiner of patents, a machinist, two clerks as draftsmen, an inferior clerk, and a messenger. To obtain a patent an applicant must file a specification, a drawing, and a model. When issued, the patent is good for 14 years, subject to an extension of 7 years upon the approval of a Board consisting of the Secretary of State, the Solicitor of the Treasury, and the Commissioner of Patents. Reasons for requesting an extension must be presented to the Board. For the first time appeals are permitted. Should the Examiner of Patents refuse to issue a patent the applicant may take his case to a Board of three disinterested persons appointed by the Secretary of State. The application fee is $30 for citizens, $500 for British subjects, and $300 for all other aliens. This apparent discrimination results from similar treatment of American citizens in foreign patent offices. The fees collected by the Patent Office are to constitute the Patent Fund, to be used for clerk hire and other expenses. A register of all patents issued is to be kept. Employees of the Patent Office are henceforth forbidden to acquire any interest in a patent, except by inheritance or bequest. The sum of $1,500 is appropriated for the purchase of a library of scientific works and periodicals. The Commissioner is to provide for the arrangement and classification of models in galleries where they are to be displayed to the public. For a great many years this display of models was one of the greatest tourist attractions in Washington. After 1880, however, models were no longer required. In later years the historically most interesting of these models were used for exhibition purposes by the Smithsonian Institution, where they may be seen today. July 4.-A law enacted the same day as the important Patent Act provides for the erection of a new building for the Patent Office. Henry L. Ellsworth, Superintendent of Patents, is appointed the first Commissioner of Patents. Henry L. Ellsworth was born in Windsor, Conn., in 1791, the son of Oliver Ellsworth, one-time Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Before being named Superintendent and subsequently Commissioner of Patents, Ellsworth had been president of the Aetna Insurance Co., Chief Commissioner of Indian Tribes, and mayor of Hartford, Conn. Ellwsorth's interest in agriculture led him to obtain the first governmental appropriation in this field. As Commissioner of Patents he was the first Federal official to collect agricultural information for the benefit of the farmers, and he later became known as the "Father of the Department of Agriculture." His interest in Samuel Morse's telegraph led him to help obtain a $30,000 grant from Congress for testing the possibilities of that invention. July 13.-Patent No. 1 is issued to John Ruggles, Senator from Maine, who was so largely responsible for the passage of the Act of July 4. The patent, on a Locomotive Steam-Engine for Rail and Other Roads, is "designed to give a multiplied tractive power to the locomotive and to prevent the evil of the sliding of the wheels." The present system of numbering patents consecutively begins with the patents issued under the new law. Previously issued patents are not numbered. THE GREAT FIRE! December 15.-The Patent Office is completely destroyed by fire. The loss is estimated at 7,000 models, 9,000 drawings, and 230 books. More serious is the loss of all the records of patent applications and grants. After the fire the Patent Office is given quarters in the old City Hall, now the old District Courthouse. Henry L. Ellsworth, first Commissioner of Patents, July 4, 1836 to May 6, 1845. ACT OF MARCH 3 Congress appropriates $100,000 to replace the records and the most valuable and interesting patent models destroyed in the recent fire. The act requires that two sets of patent drawings be furnished by the inventor, one to be attached to the patent itself and one to be filed 1837 at the Patent Office. In this manner a double record-a safeguard against future fires-is kept. One examiner is added to the Patent Office staff. A few other changes are made. A committee is formed to help replace the records lost in the fire. With the help of United States court clerks and owners of patents a partial restoration of the records is made in the next few years. 1839 January 28.-President Mirabeau Bonapart Lamar of the Republic of Texas signs "An act securing patent rights to inventors." 1840 1842 Nathaniel Amory, Chief Clerk in the Texas State Department, becomes the first administrator of the act. During his first 11 months in office he grants 6 patents, mostly concerning improvements in machinery. ACT OF MARCH 3 AGRICULTURE-A New Job for THE PATENT OFFICE The Commissioner of Patents is assigned the duty of collecting and publishing statistics and other information on agriculture. For 23 years, until the creation of the Department of Agriculture in 1862, the Patent Office continues this work. The annual reports of the Patent Commissioners during these years devote considerable space to agricultural topics. For many years part of the Patent Office Fund is used for distributing free seeds to farmers. The Act of March 3 provides that appeals from the Patent Commissioner may be taken to the Chief Justice of the United States Court for the District of Columbia. The Act permits an American inventor to use publicly or sell his article for 2 years before applying for a patent, without forfeiting his right to a patent. Two assistant examiners are added to the Patent Office staff. The Patent Office moves into its new home at F and Eighth Streets. NW. The building, to which wings are added in 1852, 1856, and 1867, becomes the home of the Patent Office for the next 92 years. June 20. Samuel F. B. Morse, of New York, receives Patent No. 1,647 for "Telegraph Signs." This is the telegraph, which, by making possible instantaneous communication between far corners of the land, plays the first important role in bringing the peoples of the world nearer together. ACT OF AUGUST 29 DESIGNS Are Made PateNTABLE "Any person, who by his own industry, genius, efforts and expense, has invented any new and original design" becomes entitled to a design patent. The term of a design patent is seven years. (By 1952 over 165,000 design patents had been issued.) The Act of August 29 requires the owner of a patent to mark his article as patented, including the date on which the patent was issued. Any failure to do so results in a $100 fine-one-half to go to the informer. A similar penalty is provided for falsely marking any article as patented. The Act includes a few additional provisions. The first Commissioner of Patents, Henry L. Ellsworth, states in 1844 his annual report for 1843, while commenting on important inventions which have been made, that "the advancements of the arts, from year to year, taxes our credulity and seems to presage the arrival of that period when human improvement must end." This rhetorical flourish is probably the origin of the unfounded story of the Patent Office official who resigned because everything had been invented. June 15.-Charles Goodyear of New York receives Patent No. 3,633 for an "Improvement in the Manner of Preparing Fabrics of Caoutchouc or India-Rubber." The vulcanization of rubber, which Goodyear's process makes possible, gives rise to great industries in the years to come. The Republic of Texas joins the Union. The following year United 1845 States Commissioner of Patents Burke urges that steps be taken to validate the patents issued by Texas, but no action appears to have been taken. The Patent Office technical staff consists of one Commissioner, two examiners, and two assistant examiners. During the year 1,246 applications are filed. Edmund Burke, second Commissioner of Patents, May 7, 1845 to May 10, 1849. September 10.-Elias Howe, Jr., of Cambridge, Mass., receives Pat- 1846 ent No. 4,750 for an "Improvement in Sewing Machines." By inventing a "new and useful machine for sewing seams in cloth or other articles," Howe gives a new stimulus to industry. ACT OF MAY 27 Congress places in the hands of the Commissioner of Patents the power of extending patents. Since 1836 this power had been vested in a Board consisting of the Secretary of State, the Commissioner of Patents, and the Solicitor of the Treasury. Two principal and two assistant examiners are added to the Patent Office staff. A few other changes are made. 1848 The Act of March 3 transfers the Patent Office from the State 1849 Department to the newly created Department of the Interior. Not until April 1925, does the Patent Office come under the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce. 385046 0-56-3 |