Believe it or not, the US Patent and Trademark Office celebrates its 225th anniversary today.
Enacted on April 10th, 1790, the Patent Act expanded upon the progress clause in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution which promoted “the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries” by further defining the subject matter of a patent as “any useful art, manufacture, engine, machine, or device, or any improvement thereon not before known or used.”
America’s founding fathers, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, assisted with the formulation of the patent system in the United States.
Using the patent system, a person could own the results of their intellectual pursuits; the first patent, reviewed by Jefferson, and signed by Washington, was to a method of making potash, an ingredient used in fertilizer. The patent was issued on July 31, 1790 to Mr. Samuel Hopkins.
Happy 225th anniversary, USPTO! 😀
