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Invention Mysteries TM
Self-syndicated weekly newspaper column

Necessity is the mother of invention,
so celebrate Father's Day with these 'fathers of invention'

By Paul Niemann

"One way to predict the future is to invent it." -- Alan Kay

[JUNE 12, 2003]  Next week we begin a three-part series in which we chronicle three of the most successful inventors in United States history. These three inventors are:

  • THOMAS ALVA EDISON (1847-1931; born in Milan, Ohio)
    The greatest inventor of all -- 1,093 U.S. patents

  • JEROME LEMELSON (1923-1996; born in Staten Island, N.Y.)
    The most prolific inventor of our time, with more than 550 U.S. patents

  • STANLEY MASON (born in 1921 in Trenton, N.J.; still living)
    Inventor of ordinary, everyday products, with more than 55 U.S. patents; sold his first invention at the age of 7

The above three inventors deserve to be called "fathers of invention" for the huge impacts their inventions have had on our lives. Between them, they had a combined 1,700 patents, and counting. We'll profile them over the next three weeks.

First though, we begin with the story of the person who made it all possible.

 

There was an inventor born 260 years ago in Virginia who could be considered the original father of invention. Without him, many of our nation's greatest inventions would never have made their way into the public domain.

President Thomas Jefferson invented the most new products of any president in history, yet he chose not to file for patents on any of his inventions. Jefferson was not the one U.S. President to hold a patent -- that would be Abraham Lincoln -- or the one U.S. President to hold a trademark -- that would be George Washington -- but what he did do was to help establish our patent system. It was his impact on our patent system that makes him stand out.

Prior to becoming our nation's first head of the patent department in 1790, Jefferson opposed the concept of granting patents, because he considered them to be an unfair monopoly.

 

What's so important about having a good patent system?

Without it, inventors (and companies) would not have as much incentive to create new products, because there would be nothing to prevent other people (or companies) from stealing or copying them. As a result, many of our nation's greatest inventions would never have been created. No one would want to invest his own time and money in developing and marketing a new idea if he knew that his idea could be stolen or easily copied by someone else. There must be some sort of protection provided to the inventor in order for him to benefit from his invention, or else there would be less incentive to invent.

 

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Jefferson later changed his mind about the importance of having patents once he saw a number of new products introduced to the general public as a result of the protection that a patent provides. He realized that patent laws INCREASED rather than DECREASED the number of innovations.

Serving as head of the patent office and as secretary of state at the same time, Jefferson rejected the majority of patent applications that he reviewed. He also established that each new invention must meet three criteria in order to be granted a patent: It must be "new, not obvious and useful." Without such rules, anybody and everybody who could afford the patent fee would be applying for patents, thus clogging up the system and making it harder for worthwhile inventions to be introduced into society. Jefferson himself tested many of the inventions that were submitted to him, and his three criteria for granting a patent have been used in issuing our nation's six million patents.

 

What are some of the things that Thomas Jefferson invented? The list includes a moldboard plow, wheel cipher, spherical sundial, portable copying press, automatic double doors, bookstand, swivel chair, dumbwaiter and a macaroni machine.

In addition, he introduced four food items to the U.S.: french fries, ice cream, waffles and macaroni.

Jefferson died on July 4, 1826 -- the same day that John Adams died and exactly 50 years after he signed the Declaration of Independence.

Next week: Meet Thomas Edison, the greatest inventor of all

[Paul Niemann]

Paul Niemann is a contributing author to Inventors' Digest magazine, and he also runs MarketLaunchers.com, helping people in the marketing of their new product ideas. He can be reached at niemann7@aol.com.

Last week's column in LDN: "Accidental inventions"

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