Famous Patents

Patent Assistance Worldwide on Historical Patents

Patent Assistance Worldwide on Famous Patents

Patent Assistance Worldwide shares that patent laws in the United States began in the late 1700′s. These laws protect the rights of inventors for a defined period of time and prohibit the use of their inventions for commercial purposes by others without the permission of the patent holder. Reading a chronology of patents issued in America during the 19th century is like reading a history of the industrial revolution. The first U.S. patent was issued in 1790 to Samuel Hopkins for the invention of pot ash and a list of other famous patents began to build. You may remember learning in grade school about the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney, the second U. S. patent issued. As patent law evolved, inventors were encouraged by the protections they offered. Over the next hundred years, motivated Americans and others produced dozens of revolutionary devices that we now take for granted. Here are just a few of the most famous:

1836 - Revolver (Samuel Colt)
1837 - Electric Motor (Thomas Davenport)
1840 - Morse Code (Samuel Morse)
1844 – Vulcanized Rubber (Charles Goodyear)
1846 - Sewing Machine (Elias Howe)
1866 – Bicycle (Pierre Lallement)
1868 - Dynamite (Alfred Nobel)
1874 – Barbed Wire (Joseph Glidden)
1876 - Telephone (Alexander Graham Bell)
1877 - Internal Combustion Engine (Nicholaus August Otto)
1880 – First Incandescent Light (Thomas Edison)
1887 - Adding Machine (Dorr E. Felt)
1888 - Roll Film Camera (George Eastman)
1895 - Automobile (George Selden)
1897 - Radio (Guglielmo Marconi)

There are famous patents that have been issued to famous people. Abraham Lincoln was a strong supporter of the patent system and also held one of his own, for an inflatable buoy device that keeps a ship from capsizing. Marlon Brando developed and patented a drum tuning system. Fellow actor Steve McQueen loved to race motorcycles and invented a bucket seat belt for bikes. One of the most prolific inventors was entertainer and ventriloquist, Paul Winchell, who held patents on the retractable ink pen, the camera lens cap and the first artificial heart. Articulating the theory of relativity completely overshadowed the patent granted to Albert Einstein for the invention of a refrigeration unit.

The need for patent protection today is global, as developing countries become industrial partners. Patent Assistance Worldwide helps today’s innovators by providing inventors with the education and expertise that they need to obtain a patent in the U.S. and other countries. The company works with a network of registered patent attorneys, patent agents, universities and industry leaders in countries around the world, referring clients to advisors who develop confidential and unbiased assessments of new designs to determine patentability. Referrals to capable draftsmen and graphic designers make it possible for clients to render their designs into real world images. During a twenty year history, Patent Assistance Worldwide has contributed to its own list of famous patents. Clients benefit as they work with tools which help them understand fully the product innovation process and the patent process itself. Patent Assistance Worldwide also connects inventors with professionals who can help with product marketing, licensing, international contracts.

To learn more about Patent Assistance Worldwide, visit www.patentassistance-worldwidesite.com