Patent Facts you probably didn't know

The following list provides an overview of some notable intellectual property events that have occurred in the past and have specific importance in this domain.

January
January 2, 1879	Auguste Bartholdi filed a design patent on Statue of Liberty (Design for a statue (USD11023S)
January 2, 1906	Willis Carrier receives a US patent for the world’s first air conditioner
January 3, 1872	1st patent list issued by US Patent Office
January 6, 1857	Patent for reducing zinc ore granted to Samuel Wetherill, Penn
January 6, 1931	Thomas Edison submits his last patent application
January 6, 1958	Gen Electric filed a patent on method of synthetically making diamonds
January 8, 1889	Dr Herman Hollerith receives 1st US patent for a mechanical tabulating machine
January 9, 1986	After losing a patent battle with Polaroid, Kodak must give up its instant camera business.
January 12, 1970	Steve T. McQueen filed a design patent on driving seat Bucket seat shell (USD219813S)
January 13, 1630	Letters Patent issued to Plymouth Colony
January 15, 1861	Steam elevator patented by Elisha Otis, an American industrialist and founder of the Otis Elevator Company,
January 15, 1991	Elizabeth II signs letters patent that allows Australia to institute its own Victoria Cross, the first Commonwealth realm to do so
January 17, 1911	Nikola Tesla filed a patent on Turbine
January 18, 1915	Crescent Tool Company filed a patent on a Wrench (US1133236A)
January 19, 1825	Ezra Daggett & nephew Thomas Kensett patent food storage in tin cans
January 23, 1849	Patent granted for an envelope-making machine
January 25, 1799	1st US patent for a seeding machine, Eliakim Spooner, Vermont
February
February 1, 1788	1st US steamboat patent issued, by Georgia to Briggs & Longstreet
February 1, 1793	Patent granted Ralph Hodgson, NY, for oiled silk & linen
February 1, 1959	Texas Instruments requests patent of IC (Integrated Circuit)
February 10, 1863	1st US fire extinguisher patent granted to Alanson Crane, Virginia
February 11, 1922	Thomas A. Edison filed a patent on Sound recorder
February 14, 1794	1st US textile machinery patent granted, to James Davenport, Phila
February 16, 1932	1st patent for a tree issued to James Markham for a peach tree
February 17, 1691	Thomas Neale granted English patent for American postal service
February 18, 1879	Sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi is awarded a patent for his design for the Statue of Liberty
February 20, 1987	Jamie L. Curtis designed and patented a disposable diaper that included a waterproof pocket that held baby wipes (Infant garment (US4753647A)
February 20, 2001	The United States Supreme Court declines to consider an appeal by five major oil companies against Unocal’s patent on production of cleaner “reformulated” gasoline sold in California
February 27, 1922	Morgan Garrett A filed a patent on Traffic signal (US1475024 A)
February 28, 1956	American engineer Wright Forrester issued a patent for computer core memory
March
March 2, 1929	Congress creates Court of Customs & Patent Appeals
March 6, 1646	Joseph Jenkes, MA, receives 1st colonial machine patent
March 9, 1822	Charles Graham of NY granted first US patent for artificial teeth
March 10, 1849	Abraham Lincoln applies for a patent (only US president to do so) for a device to lift a boat over shoals and obstructions
March 11, 1791	Samuel Mulliken is 1st to obtain more than one US patent
March 12, 1903	Robert A Douglass filed a patent on car wiper (Locomotive-cab-window cleaner (US762889 A)
March 14, 1644	England grants patent for Providence Plantations (now Rhode Island)
March 17, 1868	Postage stamp cancelling machine patent issued
March 17, 1928	John Hays Hammond Jr. filed a patent on secret radio communication (US1838762 A)
March 22, 1960	1st patent for lasers granted to Arthur Schawlow & Charles Townes
March 23, 1903	Wright brothers obtain airplane patent
March 25, 1584	Sir Walter Raleigh renews Humphrey Gilbert’s patent to explore North America
March 26, 1845	Patent awarded for adhesive medicated plaster, precursor of Band-Aid
March 28, 1950	Emi Ltd filed a patent on Remote control for television camera (US2716152A)
April
April 1, 1826	Samuel Morey is issued the first U.S. patent for an internal-combustion engine, which he calls a “Gas or Vapour Engine”
April 3, 1866	Milton Bradley filed a patent on a Social game
April 7, 1880	Alfred Nobel filed a patent on dynamite (US231348A)
April 10, 1790	US Patent system forms
April 23, 1951	Clarence L. Fender filed a design patent on Electric guitar (Fender guitar (USD164227S)
April 24, 1833	Jacob Evert & George Dulty patent 1st soda fountain
April 25, 1684	Patent granted for thimble
April 28, 1977	The Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure is signed.
April 28, 2005	The Patent Law Treaty goes into effect.
April 29, 1813	1st US Rubber patent granted to Jacob F Hummel
May
May 1, 2008	The London Agreement on translation of European patents, concluded in 2000, enters into force in 14 of the 34 Contracting States to the European Patent Convention.
May 5, 1809	Mary Kies is 1st woman issued a US patent (weaving straw)
May 6, 1851	Patent on the first artificial ice production machine was filed
May 6, 1885	Nikola Tesla filed his first patent for Commutator for Dynamo Electric Machines
May 8, 1879	George Selden files for 1st patent for a gasoline-driven automobile
May 11, 1917	King George V grants Royal Letters Patent to New Zealand
May 11, 1928	Farmer Clyde filed a patent on Fluid compressor (US1754231A)
May 11, 1951	American engineer Jay Forrester applies for patent for computer core memory
May 14, 1878	Vaseline is granted a patent (U.S. Patent 127,568)
May 17, 1803	John Hawkins & Richard French patent the Reaping Machine
May 17, 1934	Zippo Mfg. Co filed a patent on Pocket lighter (US2032695A)
May 19, 1891	William Paixter filed a patent on Bottle-sealing device
May 20, 1873	Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis patent the first blue jeans with copper rivets
May 20, 1875	Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis patent the first blue jeans with copper rivets
May 22, 1849	Abraham Lincoln receives a patent (only US president to do so) for a device to lift a boat over shoals and obstructions
May 22, 1906	Wright Brothers patent an aeroplane
May 25, 1911	Samuel Adler filed a patent on
May 26, 1946	Patent filed in US for H-Bomb
May 27, 1982	“Do Black Patent Leather Shoes…” opens at Alvin NYC for 5 performances
May 29, 1919	Charles Strite files patent for the pop-up toaster
May 30, 1933	Patent on invisible glass installation
May 30, 1982	“Do Black Patent Leather Shoes…” closes at Alvin NYC after 5 perf
May 31, 1895	John Harvey Kellogg filed for a patent on Flaked cereals (Flaked Cereals and Process of Preparing Same)
June
June 1, 1869	Thomas Edison granted his first patent for an electric vote machine (U.S. Patent 90,646)
June 1, 1978	The first international applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty are filed.
June 1, 2000	The Patent Law Treaty (PLT) is signed.
June 2, 1896	Guglielmo Marconi applies to patent the radio, accepted 2 July 1897
June 4, 1973	A patent for the ATM is granted to Don Wetzel, Tom Barnes and George Chastain.
June 6, 1947	Treaty drawn for establishment of Intl Patent Institute
June 8, 1887	Herman Hollerith receives a patent for his punch card calculator.
June 8, 1891	Setii Wheeler filed a patent on Toilet-paper roll (US465588A)
June 10, 1846	Robert Thomson obtains an English patent on a rubber tyre
June 10, 1902	Patent for window envelope granted to H F Callahan
June 11, 1578	England grants Sir Humphrey Gilbert a patent to explore & colonize North America
June 11, 1793	1st American stove patent is granted to Robert Haeterick
June 17, 1837	Charles Goodyear obtains his 1st rubber patent
June 19, 1970	The Patent Cooperation Treaty is signed.
June 22, 1920	Strite Charles P filed a patent on Bread-toaster (US1394450A)
June 26, 1894	Karl Benz of Germany receives US patent for gasoline-driven auto
June 29, 1900	Gen Electric filed a patent on Electric railway (US687098A)
June 29, 1992	Michael Jackson filed a patent on Method and means for creating anti-gravity illusion (US5255452A)
June 30, 1925	Charles Jenkins is granted the U.S. patent for Transmitting Pictures over Wireless (early television)
July
July 8, 1862	Theodore R Timby is granted a US patent for discharging guns in a revolving turret, using electricity.
July 11, 1892	US Patent Office says J W Swan, rather than Thomas Edison, invented the electric light carbon for the incandescent lamp
July 13, 1836	US patent #1 (after 9,957 unnumbered patents), for locomotive wheels
July 14, 1868	Alvin J. Fellows filed a patent on Measuring Tape (US79965A)
July 14, 1914	1st patent for liquid-fuelled rocket design granted (Robert Goddard)
July 14, 1967	Lifeguard Watch filed a patent on Cardiac pulse-rate monitor (US3473526A)
July 23, 1888	John Boyd Dunlop applies to patent pneumatic tire
July 25, 1854	Walter Hunt is awarded the first U.S. patent for a paper shirt collar
July 31, 1790	1st US patent granted, to Samuel Hopkins for a potash process. The patent was signed by President George Washington.
August
August 1, 1893	Henry Perky & William Ford patent shredded wheat
August 2, 1695	Daniel Quare receives a British patent for his portable barometer
August 2, 1791	Samuel Briggs & his son, patent nail-making machine
August 8, 1911	The millionth patent is filed in the United States Patent Office by Francis Holton for a tubeless vehicle tire.
August 8, 1989	James Cameron filed a patent on Apparatus for propelling a user in an underwater environment (US4996938A)
August 10, 1622	John Mason and Ferdinando Gorges receive a land patent of the Province of Maine.
August 13, 1979	Lucasfilm, Ltd. (George W. Lucas) filed a design patent on Star Wars toy (Toy action figure (USD264109S)
August 14, 1885	Japan’s first patent is issued to the inventor of a rust-proof paint.
August 22, 1865	William Sheppard is issued the first US patent for liquid soap
August 24, 2012	A US jury in California finds that Samsung is guilty of patent infringement and awards over US$1 billion in damages to Apple
August 26, 1791	John Fitch granted US patent for his working steamboat
August 27, 1878	Latham Sholes filed a patent on Type-writing Machines with qwerty keyboard (Improvement in type-writing machines (US207559A)
August 27, 1913	Swedish engineer Gideon Sundback of Hoboken applies to patent all-purpose zipper
August 29, 1664	Adriaen Pieck/Gerrit de Ferry patent wooden fire spout in Amsterdam
August 29, 1885	Gottlieb Daimler receives German patent for a motorcycle
August 31, 2012	Apple loses its patent dispute with Samsung in Tokyo, Japan
September
September 4, 1888	George Eastman patents 1st roll-film camera & registers “Kodak”
September 7, 1915	Johnny Gruelle patents his Raggedy Ann doll (US Patent D47789)
September 10, 1846	Elias Howe takes out a patent for the sewing machine
September 12, 1909	World’s first patent for synthetic rubber granted to German chemist Fritz Hofmann
September 16, 2011	America Invents Act (AIA) was passed by Congress and was signed into law by President Barack Obama
September 19, 1883	Waterman Li filed a patent on Fountain-pen (US293545A)
September 20, 2000	Patent on RSA cryptograph algorithm ends
September 22, 1903	Italo Marchiony granted patent for ice cream cone
October
October 2, 1608	Hans Lippershey applies for patent for first known early telescope in the Netherlands
October 5, 1973	Signature of the European Patent Convention.
October 8, 1945	Microwave oven patented
October 10, 1868	Thomas Edison patents his 1st invention: electric voice machine
October 11, 1929	Emanuel Nielsen filed a patent on Hair drier (US1821525A)
October 14, 1834	First black to obtain a US patent, Henry Blair, for a corn planter
October 17, 1888	Thomas Edison files a patent for the Optical Phonograph (the first movie)
October 18, 1931	Thomas Edison, inventor who lit up our life (held 1200 patents), dies at 84
October 20, 1781	Patent of Toleration, providing limited freedom of worship, was approved in Habsburg Monarchy.
October 21, 1977	The European Patent Institute is founded.
October 24, 1836	Earliest American patent for a phosphorus friction match by Alonzo Dwight Phillips of Springfield, Massachusetts
October 28, 1793	Eli Whitney applies for a patent on cotton gin
October 30, 1894	Domenico Melegatti obtains a patent for a procedure to be applied in industrial production of pandoro traditional Italian sweet yeast bread).
November
November 3, 1620	Great Patent granted to Plymouth Colony
November 4, 1879	Thomas Alva Edison filed a patent on electric lamp (US223898A)
November 4, 1925	C. F. Brannock filed a patent on Foot-measuring instrument
November 5, 1895	1st US patent granted for auto (George B Selden) for gasoline driven car
November 8, 1904	Inventor and manufacturer Harvey Hubbell receives the first U.S. patent for a separable electric attachment plug
November 8, 1910	William H. Frost receives the first U.S. patent for an electrical insect destroyer
November 9, 1942	The first U.S. design patent for typefaces and borders was issued to George Bruce of New York City
November 11, 1930	Patent number US1781541 was awarded to Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd for their invention, the Einstein refrigerator.
November 14, 1904	King C Gillette patents Gillette razor blade
November 17, 1970	Douglas Engelbart receives the patent for the first computer mouse.
November 19, 1872	E.D. Barbour of Boston is awarded the first U.S. patent for the first ‘calculator’, an adding machine capable of printing totals and subtotals
November 22, 1927	1st snowmobile patent granted to Carl Eliason (Sayner Wisc)
November 23, 1863	Patent granted for a process of making color photographs
November 25, 1715	First English patent granted to an American, for processing corn
November 25, 1867	Alfred Nobel patents dynamite
November 26, 1928	Rohwedder Otto F filed a patent on Machine for slicing an entire loaf of bread at a single operation (US1867377A)
November 26, 1982	Marvin Glass & Associates filed a design patent for apple shape telephone (USD281686S)
November 29, 1910	The first US patent for inventing the traffic lights system is issued to Ernest Sirrine.
November 30, 1880	Thomas A Edison filed a design patent on incandescent electric lamp
December
December 1, 1936	EW Brundin & FF Lyon obtain patent on soilless culture of plants
December 3, 1901	King C Gillette filed a patent on Razor (US775134A)
December 5, 1846	C F Schoenbein obtains patent for cellulose nitrate explosive
December 7, 1909	Belgian-born Leo Baekeland, Yonkers, NY, patents 1st thermosetting plastic (Bakelite)
December 13, 1816	Patent for a dry dock issued to John Adamson, Boston
December 15, 1593	State of Holland grants patent on windmill with a crankshaft
December 15, 1836	Patent Office burns in Wash, DC
December 20, 1938	Vladimir K Zworykin (Penn) receives patent on Iconoscope TV system
December 20, 2012	Apple is denied a patent for mobile pinch-to-zoom gestures by the US patent authorities
December 23, 1834	Joseph Hansom of London receives patent for Hansom cabs
December 24, 1889	Daniel Stover & William Hance patent bicycle with back pedal brake
December 26, 1922	Carleton Ellis was issued the first American patent for an unsaturated polyester
December 26, 1933	FM radio patent granted to American engineer Edwin Howard Armstrong
December 28, 1877	John Stevens, applies for a patent for his flour rolling mill
December 29, 1908	Patent granted for a 4-wheel automobile brake, Clintonville, Wisc

This list is intended for general informational purposes only, does not claim to cover all occurrences related to patents in the past and does not take into account the reader’s specific circumstances, and may not reflect the most current developments.

Patent Facts you probably didn’t know

One comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply