2015 Event Smartflash, a Texas technology licensing company, has won $532.9 million in a lawsuit against Apple for infringement of data management software patents; Apple claims that the patents are invalid and that it never used the technology in question 2014 Event Bose has filed a lawsuit against Beats Electronics for violating various patents related to noise-cancellation technology 2014 Event Tesla Motors announces that it will make hundreds of patents for its Model S electric cars open source; the company's founder, Elon Musk, seeks to encourage development of the electric car market 2014 Event Apple and Samsung achieved mixed victory in a patent suit settlement; Samsung will owe Apple about $120 million, and Apple will owe Samsung about $158,000; Both parties were found to have infringed on each other's patents 2013 Event The U.S. Supreme Court invalides gene patents held by Myriad Genetics when it rules that isolated human genes are not patentable 2012 Event Patent law disputes between Samsung and Apple deadlock as the dispute addresses valuation of each other's patents 1988 Event Harvard University patents genetically engineered mouse 1976 Death Percy Julian, holder of more than 138 chemical patents, dies at 78 1970 Event Edwin Land patents Polaroid camera 1965 Event RC Duncan patents "Pampers" disposable diaper 1961 Event Robert Noyce patents integrated circuit 1960 Event 1st atomic reactor system patents, J W Flora of Canoga Park, California 1958 Event Gibson patents Flying V Guitar 1951 Event Jay Forrester patents computer core memory 1948 Event Dr. Frank G Back (New York City) patents lens to provide zoom effects 1942 Event Henry Ford patents a method of constructing plastic auto bodies 1937 Event DuPont Corp patents nylon, developed by employee Wallace H Carothers 1936 Event Edward Ravenscroft patents screw-on bottle cap with a pour lip 1935 Event Charles Darrow patents Monopoly 1935 Event Sir Watson-Watt patents RADAR 1930 Event Johann Ostermeyer patents flashbulb 1928 Event Jacob Schick patents 1st electric razor 1926 Event John C Garand patents semi-automatic rifle 1923 Event Garrett Morgan invents and patents traffic signal 1923 Event Col Jacob Schick patents 1st electric shaver 1923 Event John Harwood patents self-winding watch (Switzerland) 1923 Event Colonel Jacob Schick patents Schick shavers 1919 Event Alice H Parker patents gas heating furnace 1919 Event Charles Strite patents pop-up toaster 1919 Event Charles Strite patents pop-up toaster 1915 Event John Gruelle patents his Raggedy Ann doll 1915 Event John B. Gruelle patents Raggedy Ann doll 1914 Event Garrett Morgan invents and patents gas mask 1914 Event John Wray patents animation 1914 Event W. H. Carrier patents air conditioner 1914 Event Stacy G Carkhuff patents non-skid tire pattern 1913 Event Swedish engineer Gideon Sundback of Hoboken patents all-purpose zipper 1913 Event Gideon Sundback of Sweden patents the zipper 1913 Event Louis Perlman patents demountable auto tire-carrying wheel rim 1913 Event William M Burton patents a process to "crack" petroleum 1912 Event Irving Fisher patents archiving system with index cards 1912 Event Naval torpedo launched from an airplane patents by B. A. Fiske 1911 Event Willis Farnsworth, Petaluma, California, patents coin-operated locker 1910 Event Arthur Knight patents steel shaft golf clubs 1910 Event Alva Fisher patents electric washing machine 1909 Event Leo Baekeland, Yonkers, patents 1st thermosetting plastic (Bakelite) 1909 Event A. J. Reach Co. patents cork-centered baseball 1906 Event U.S. inventor Lee de Forest patents "Audion," a 3-diode amplification valve which proved a pioneering development in radio and broadcasting 1906 Event Louis H. Perlman patents a demountable tire carrying rim for cars 1904 Event King C Gillette patents Gillette razor blade 1903 Event Italo Marcioni patents ice cream cone in New Jersey 1903 Event Clyde Coleman of New York City patents automobile electric starter 1903 Event Harry Gammeter, Cleveland, patents multigraph duplicating machine 1902 Event Irving W. Colburn patents sheet glass drawing machine 1901 Event Gillette patents 1st disposable razor 1901 Event Hubert Cecil Booth patents vacuum cleaner 1900 Event A German engineer patents front-wheel drive for automobiles 1900 Event Edwin S Votey patents pneumatic piano player 1899 Event George F Bryant of Boston patents the wooden golf tee 1899 Event IR Johnson patents bicycle frame 1899 Event J. S. Thurman patents motor-driven vacuum cleaner 1898 Event Hannibal Goodwin patents celluloid photographic film 1898 Event Edwin Prescott patents roller coaster 1898 Event Guglielmo Marconi patents radio 1898 Event John Ames Sherman patents 1st envelope folding and gumming mach (Mass) 1897 Event W B Purvis patents electric railway switch 1896 Event J. H. Hunter patents portable weighing scales 1896 Event Harvey Hubbell patents electric light bulb socket with a pull chain 1896 Event W. S. Hadaway patents electric stove 1896 Event Guglielmo Marconi patents the radio 1896 Event Whitcomb Judson, Chicago, patents a hookless fastening, also known as the zipper 1895 Event George Brownell patents a machine to make paper twine (Mass) 1895 Event Frederick E. Blaisdell patents the pencil 1895 Event George Selden patents 1st gasoline-driven car 1895 Event Charles E Duryea patents a gas-driven automobile 1895 Event British inventor Birt Acres patents film camera/projector 1895 Event Michael Owens of Toledo, Ohio patents a glass-blowing machine 1894 Event Daniel Cooper patents time clock 1894 Event John Harvey Kellogg patents "flaked cereal" 1893 Event Henry Perky patents shredded wheat 1893 Event Edward Acheson, Penn, patents an abrasive he names "carborundum" 1892 Event Charles A. Wheeler patents a prototype of the escalator 1892 Event George Sampson patents clothes dryer 1892 Event George C. Blickensderfer patents portable typewriter 1891 Event Edison patents "transmission of signals electrically" (radio) 1891 Event Granville T. Woods patents electric railway 1891 Event Thomas Edison patents motion picture camera 1891 Event John T. Smith patents corkboard 1891 Event Travelers checks patents 1890 Event D. McCree patents portable fire escape 1890 Event W B Purvis patents fountain pen 1889 Event Alexander Dey patents dial time recorder 1889 Event William Gray patents coin-operated telephone 1889 Event Dan Rylands patents screw cap 1888 Event William Bundy patents timecard clock 1888 Event John Boyd Dunlop patents pneumatic bicycle tire 1888 Event John J Loud patents ballpoint pen 1888 Event George Eastman patents 1st roll-film camera and registers "Kodak" 1888 Event William Seward Burroughs patents adding machine 1888 Event Theophilus Van Kannel of Philadelphia patents revolving door 1888 Event Leroy Buffington patents a system to build skyscrapers 1888 Event George Eastman patents "Kodak box camera" 1887 Event A Miles patents elevator 1887 Event Emile Berliner patents the Gramophone 1887 Event Rowell Hodge patents barbed wire 1887 Event Hannibal W. Goodwin patents celluloid photographic film 1887 Event Chester Greenwood of Maine patents earmuffs 1887 Event Everett Horton, Connecticut, patents fishing rod of telescoping steel tubes 1886 Event George K Anderson of Memphis, Tennessee patents typewriter ribbon 1886 Event Karl Benz patents 1st auto with burning motor 1885 Event Gottlieb Daimler patents 1st bike (Germany) 1885 Event John Matzeliger of Suriname patents shoe lacing machine 1884 Event Levant Richardson patents ball-bearing skate 1884 Event John B Meyenberg of St. Louis patents evaporated milk 1884 Event George Eastman patents paper-strip photographic film 1883 Event James Cutler patents postal mail chute 1883 Event Oscar Hammerstein patents 1st cigar-rolling machine 1883 Event A. Ashwell patents free-toilet in London 1881 Event David Houston patents roll film for cameras 1881 Event Edward Leveaux patents automatic player piano 1881 Event Lewis Latimer invents and patents electric lamp with a carbon filament 1880 Event Geo Ligowsky patents device to throw clay pigeons for trapshooters 1880 Event A P Abourne patents a process for refining coconut oil 1880 Event Thomas Edison patents electric incandescent lamp 1879 Event Elkins patents refrigerating apparatus 1879 Event James Ritty patents 1st cash register, to combat stealing by bartenders in his Dayton, Ohio saloon 1879 Event W. H. Richardson, a black inventor, patents the children's carriage 1878 Event An improved corncob pipe patents by Henry Tibbe, Washington, Mo 1878 Event Thomas Alva Edison patents gramophone (phonograph) 1878 Event Frederick Thayer patents catcher's mask (pat # 200,358) 1877 Event Thomas Edison patents phonograph 1876 Event Daniel Stillson (Mass) patents 1st practical pipe wrench 1876 Event Thomas Edison patents mimeograph 1876 Event Alexander Graham Bell patents telephone 1876 Event A G Bell and Elisha Gray apply separately for telephone patents Supreme Court eventually rules Bell rightful inventor 1875 Event William Bonwill, patents dental mallet to impact gold into cavities 1874 Event Joseph F. Glidden patents barbed wire 1874 Event Harry S. Parmelee patents sprinkler head 1874 Event Major Walter Copton Wingfield patents a portable tennis court 1874 Event Major Walter Winfield patents game called "sphairistike" (lawn tennis) 1873 Event Dentist John Beers of San Francisco patents gold crown 1872 Event J. S. Risdon patents metal windmill 1872 Event Phillip W Pratt patents his sprinkler system for extinguishing fires 1872 Event Mahlon Loomis patents wireless radio 1872 Event Mahlon Loomis patents wireless telegraphy 1872 Event Samuel R. Percy patents dried milk 1872 Event George B Brayton patents gasoline powered engine 1872 Event Thomas J. Martin patents fire extinguisher 1872 Event George Westinghouse, Jr. patents triple air brake for trains 1872 Event Luther Crowell patents a machine that manufactures paper bags 1872 Event Silas Noble and JP Cooley patents toothpick manufacturing machine 1871 Event Albert L Jones (New York City), patents corrugated paper 1871 Event Moses F Gale patents a cigar lighter (New York City) 1871 Event Carousel patents by Wilhelm Schneider, Davenport, Iowa 1870 Event J D Schneiter patents rocket mail in France, (not done) 1870 Event E. J. DeSemdt patents asphalt pavement 1869 Event William Finley Semple of Mount Vernon, Ohio, patents chewing gum 1869 Event Cornelius Swarthout patents waffle iron 1869 Event O. B. Brown patents moving picture projector 1869 Event Margarine is patents by Hippolye Mega-Mouries for use by French Navy 1869 Event Ives W. McGaffey of Chicago patents 1st vacuum cleaner 1868 Event Louis Ducos du Hauron patents trichrome color photo process 1868 Event Thomas Edison patents his 1st invention: electric voice machine 1868 Event Alvin J. Fellows patents tape measure 1868 Event Christopher Latham Sholes patents "Type-writer" 1867 Event Alfred Nobel patents dynamite 1867 Event D R Averill patents ready-mixed paint 1867 Event Joseph Monier patents reinforced concrete 1866 Event Pierre Lalemont patents rotary crank bicycle 1866 Event J Osterhoudt patents tin can with key opener 1866 Event Indelible pencil patents by Edson P Clark, Northampton, Mass 1866 Event Andrew Rankin patents the urinal 1865 Event James H Mason (Mass) patents 1st U.S. coffee percolator 1865 Event John Hyatts patents billard ball 1864 Event Louis Ducos du Hauron patents movie machine (never built) 1863 Event William Bullock patents continuous-roll printing press 1862 Event Richard Gatling patents Gatling gun 1862 Event Dr. Richard Gatling patents machine gun (Indianapolis) 1862 Event Dr. Richard Gatling patents machine gun 1862 Event Odore R Timby patents revolving gun turret 1862 Event Adolphe Nicole of Switzerland patents chronograph 1862 Event John D. Lynde patents aerosol dispenser 1860 Event M L Byrn patents "covered gimlet screw with a 'T' handle" (corkscrew) 1859 Event George Simpson patents electric range 1859 Event Paper bag manufacturing machine patents by William Goodale, Massachusetts 1858 Event Hamilton Smith patents rotary washing machine 1858 Event Lyman Blake patents shoe manufacturing machine 1858 Event Albert Potts of Philadelphia patents the street mailbox 1858 Event Frederick Cook, New Orleans, patents a cotton-bale metallic tie 1857 Event Timothy Alder patents typesetting machine 1857 Event James Gibbs, Va, patents chain-stitch single-thread sewing machine 1857 Event William Francis Channing and Moses G Farmer patents electric fire alarm 1857 Event Alexander Douglas patents the bustle 1856 Event Cyrus Chambers, Jr. patents folding machine that folds book and newspapers 1856 Event Anthony Fass patents accordion 1856 Event Cullen Whipple patents screw machine 1856 Event A. E. Burnside patents Burnside carbine 1855 Event Isaac Singer patents sewing machine motor 1855 Event Joshua Stoddard of Worcester, Mass patents 1st calliope 1855 Event Abraham Gesner patents kerosene 1854 Event Allen Wilson of Connecticut patents sewing machine to sew curving seams 1854 Event Aaron Allen of Boston patents folding theater chair 1854 Event Henry Meyer patents sleeping rail car 1854 Event Smith and Wesson patents metal bullet cartridges 1854 Event Charles Miller patents 1st U.S. sewing machine to stitch buttonholes 1854 Event Anthony Foss patents accordion 1851 Event Alvan Clark patents telescope 1851 Event Isaac Singer patents sewing machine 1851 Event Dr. John Gorrie patents a "refrigeration machine" 1851 Event Linus Yale patents Yale-lock 1850 Event Benjamin Lane patents gas mask with a breathing apparatus 1849 Event Benjamin Chambers patents breech loading cannon 1849 Event Abraham Lincoln patents a buoying device 1849 Event Joseph Couch patents steam-powered percussion rock drill 1848 Event M Waldo Hanchett patents dental chair 1848 Event Antoine Joseph Sax patents Saxophone 1848 Event William G. Young patents ice cream freezer 1847 Event Rotary-type printing press patents by Richard March Hoe, New York City 1847 Event Robert Thompson patents rubber tire 1846 Event Benjamin Palmer patents artificial leg 1846 Event Elias Howe patents sewing machine 1846 Event Saxophone is patents by Antoine Joseph Sax 1845 Event Rubber band patents 1845 Event Joseph Francis, New York City, patents a corrugated sheet-iron lifeboat 1845 Event Bristol man, Henry Jones, patents self-raising flour 1844 Event Goodyear patents vulcanization of rubber 1844 Birthday Elijah McCoy, black inventor, held over 50 patents 1843 Event Charles Thurber patents a typewriter 1842 Event Micah Rugg patents a nuts and bolts machine 1841 Event N E Guerin of New York patents cork-filled life preserver 1841 Event John Hampton patents venetian blind 1840 Event Samuel Morse patents his telegraph 1840 Event Alexander Wolcott patents Photographic Process 1838 Event Ephraim Morris patents railroad brake 1836 Event A. Phillips patents match 1836 Event U.S. patent #1 (after 9,957 unnumbered patents), for locomotive wheels 1836 Event Samuel Colt patents 1st revolving barrel multishot firearm 1835 Event Henry Burden patents Horseshoe manufacturing machine (Troy New York) 1835 Event Solymon Merrick patents wrench 1834 Event Cyrus Hall McCormick patents reaping machine 1834 Event Isaac Fischer, Jr. patents sandpaper 1832 Event John Howe patents pin manufacturing machine 1830 Event D. Hyde patents fountain pen 1829 Event William Austin Burt patents "typographer" (typewriter) 1828 Event Casparus van Wooden patents chocolate milk powder (Amsterdam) 1826 Event Samuel Mory patents internal combustion engine 1825 Event Walter Hunt patents safety pin 1824 Event Joseph Aspdin patents Portland cement (Yorkshire England) 1823 Event R. J. Tyers patents roller skates 1822 Event Charles Graham patents false teeth 1822 Event Charles Graham of New York patents artificial teeth 1821 Event James Boyd patents Rubber Fire Hose 1819 Event Thomas Blanchard patents lathe 1818 Event Baron Karl von Drais de Sauerbrun patents "draisine" (early bicycle) 1815 Event Sir Humphrey Davy of London patents miner's safety lamp 1813 Event David Melville, Newport, Rhode Island, patents apparatus for making coal gas 1812 Event Peter Gaillard of Lancaster, Pennsylvania patents a horse-drawn mower 1809 Event Peregrine Williamson of Baltimore patents a steel pen 1809 Event Robert Fulton patents steamboat 1806 Event Isaac Quintard patents apple cider 1802 Event Simon Willard patents banjo clock 1798 Event David Wilkinson of Rhode Island patents a nut and bolt machine 1797 Event Charles Newbold patents 1st cast-iron plow. He can't sell it to farmers, though, they fear effects of iron on soil! 1797 Event Nathaniel Briggs of New Hampshire patents a washing machine 1796 Event James S. McLean patents his piano 1794 Event Josiah Pierson patents a "cold-header" (rivet) machine 1794 Event Eli Whitney patents cotton gin 1793 Event Eli Whitney patents his cotton gin 1791 Event John Stone, Concord, Massachusetts, patents a pile driver 1785 Event British inventor Joseph Bramah patents beer-pump handle 1783 Event Benjamin Hanks patents self-winding clock 1777 Event Leonard Norcross patents a submarine diving suit 1772 Event John Clais patents 1st scale 1722 Event French C. Hopffer patents fire extinguisher 1718 Event James Puckle, a London lawyer, patents world's 1st machine gun 1677 Event John and Nicolaas van der Heyden patents fire extinguisher 1675 Event Christian Huygens patents pocket watch 1660 Event Isaack B. Fubine of Savoy, in The Hague, patents macaroni 1618 Event Captain John Gilbert patents 1st dredger in Britain
