Star We DEPOSITED BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 7-2-066 Foreword ON APRIL 10, 1790, PRESIDENT GEORGE WASHINGTON signed the bill which laid the foundations of the modern American Patent System. Three years earlier, at Philadelphia, the Constitutional Convention had given Congress the power "to promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and inventions." For 165 years the Patent System has encouraged the genius of hundreds of thousands of inventors. It has protected the inventor by giving him an opportunity to profit from his labors, and it has benefited society by systematically recording every new invention and releasing it to the public after the inventor's limited rights have expired. The Patent Office has recorded and protected the telegraph of Morse, the reaper of McCormick, the telephone of Bell, and the incandescent lamp of Edison. It has fostered the genius of Goodyear and Westinghouse, of Whitney and the Wright Brothers, of Mergenthaler and Ives, of Baekeland and Hall. Under the Patent System American industry has flourished. New products have been invented, new uses for old ones discovered, and employment given to millions. Under the Patent System a small, struggling nation has grown into the greatest industrial power on earth. The Patent System is one of the strongest bulwarks of democratic government today. It offers the same protection, the same opportunity, the same hope of reward to every individual. For over a hundred and sixty years it has recognized, as it will continue to recognize, the inherent right of an inventor to his government's protection. The American Patent System plays no favorites. It is as democratic as the Constitution which begot it. The fundamentals of the modern American Patent System are both simple and brief. In general, any person who has invented any new and useful process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter, or any improvement thereof, may obtain a patent. An application must be filed with the Commissioner of Patents, accompanied by the necessary papers describing the invention, and the prescribed fee. The Patent Office then searches prior patents and publications to determine whether the application presents something patentable. It must be new, useful, and involve invention. The patent gives the inventor the right to exclude all others from making, using, or selling his invention for 17 years. In contrast with many foreign governments the United States does not tax patents, nor does it impose other conditions on the patentee. The Patent Office is one of the most unusual branches of the United States Government. Its examining staff of over 800 is trained in all branches of science and examines thoroughly every application to determine whether a patent may be granted—a task, in these days, involving the most exhaustive research. Not only must the examiners search United States and foreign patents to learn if a similar patent has been issued, but they must study scientific books and publications to discover whether the idea has ever been described. Previous publication, invention or use prevents a patent being issued. To facilitate this enormous amount of research the examining staff is divided into 70 Patent Examining Divisions, each Division handling one or more branches of industrial activity. Division 12, for example, studies applications concerning machine elements, engine starters, and transmissions. In addition to issuing patents (including, since 1842, design patents; and, since 1930, plant patents), the Patent Office has since 1870 been in charge of registering trademarks, of which more than 560,000 have been registered to date. The importance of trademarks in building up industrial recognition and goodwill cannot be overestimated. In its earlier days the Patent Office had on various occasions the responsibility for administering copyright matters, collecting and publishing agricultural information, and even collecting meteorological data, and for some years it was the custodian not only of the famous old Patent Office models-the delight of every visitor to Washington for many yearsbut of the Declaration of Independence, and other historical documents and relics. By publishing and distributing copies of every United States patent the Patent Office has made available to the public the world's greatest scientific and mechanical library. The Patent System is the best, most workable method as yet devised for protecting inventions, fostering industrial and technical progress, and ultimately giving to the world the benefits of the individual inventor's genius. The American Patent System was the first to recognize by law the inherent right of an inventor to limited protection and to provide for the systematic examination of applications in the Patent Office, and it has become the model for the patent systems of numerous foreign countries. Truly, as Lincoln said, the Patent System has added the fuel of interest to the fire of genius. PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION The first edition of this pamphlet, called The Story of the American Patent System, 1790-1940, was published in 1940 on the occasion of the celebration of the hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the first patent act. The second edition, published in 1952, and the third edition, with revised title, have retained the style and material of the first, but numerous additions have been made to increase its scope and bring it up to date. Patents in the United States before 1790 BEFORE THE CONSTITUTION of the United States was adopted many of the American Colonies and States granted patents. The first patent on this continent was granted by the Massachusetts General Court to Samuel Winslow in 1641, for a novel method of making salt. The first patent on machinery was granted by the same Court to Joseph Jenkes in 1646, for a mill for manufacturing scythes. The Colonial and State patents, unlike modern patents, were issued only by special acts of legislature. There were no general laws providing for the granting of patents, and in every instance it was necessary for an inventor to make a special appeal to the governing body of his Colony or State. When the delegates from the various States met in Philadelphia in 1787 to frame the Constitution, one of the problems before them was to give protection to inventors and authors. Although there was a widespread fear of "monopolies" of the kind granted by European monarchs, no objection was raised to the principle of granting limited monopolies in the form of patents on inventions. A patent, in the larger sense, is of greater benefit to society than to the individual inventor. By giving the inventor a limited amount of protection it assures society of the benefits of his genius. The delegates in Philadelphia fully appreciated this, and from their deliberations came the provision in the Constitution which enabled Congress to enact the first patent law from which the modern patent system has gradually evolved. THE CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISION On May 14, 1787, delegates from the various States met in Philadelphia to frame the Constitution of the United States. On August 18 both James Madison of Virginia and Charles Pinckney of South Carolina submitted proposals regarding the protection of inventors by means of patents, and on September 5 the clause concerning patents and copyrights was adopted by the Convention. On September 17 the Constitution was signed by the delegates. Included in article 1, section 8, was the following provision: "Congress shall have power to promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing for limited times to authors and in |