PATENT SYSTEM

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 3, 5 January 1937, Page 14

PATENT SYSTEM

AMERICAN INVENTORS Recently the American patent system celebrated its one hundredth birthday. From all over the United States leaders in science, invention, industry, and engineering went to Washington to join in the celebration, states the "San Francisco Chronicle. For a young institution, only one century old, the patent system has done rather well. Beginning in 1836, it took over the old system under which patents were issued by the President's Cabinet and sianed by the President of the United States and the Secretary of State. From that year the history, of the Patent Office is essentially a history of American progress. Patent No. 1 was granted m 1836 to Senator John Ruggles, of Maine for cog gears. The same year Samuel Colt patented his revolving gun. In 1840 Samuel F. B. Morse patented his "telegraph signs," and in 1844 Goodyear patented vulcanised rubber. Two years later the sewing machine went on the records. The typewriter was patented in 1868, and in the next year Westinghouse brought in the air brake and McGaffey patented the vacuum sweeper. The barbed wire fence arrived m 1874. Four years later Mr. Thomas Edison received a patent for, his first phonograph. A year after that he came back with an incandescent electric lamp. In 1883 the cash register was patented, and in 1889 Hall patented the first cheap method to extract aluminium. Twice more were important patents granted to Edison—in 1893 for an "apparatus for exhibiting photographed moving objects," and in 1897 for the "kinematographic camera" for exhibiting photographs. In 1892 the Patent Office records show the dial telephone system was conceived in a patent granted A. B. Strowger of Chicago for an automatic telephone exchange. In 1895 G. B. Selden, of Rochester, patented his "road engine," but the patent was lkter revoked after the machine was. declared impractical by the courts. Such were the birth pangs of the motor-car. In 1906 two new industries were begun. In that year patents were issued to the Wright brothers for their heavier than air flying machine, and to Lee de Forest for the vacuum tube, the heart of the modern radio. Recently to this imposing list have been added patents for new flowers and fruits. Patent Office officials feel that new botanical varieties will make up a large share of future patent applications. The total is well over the 2,000,000 mark.