The Intellectual Property experts at Dawn Ellmore Employment discuss the stories behind six key patents.

1. Six inventions that changed the world
We live in a world with endless inventions that were unthinkable just a few decades
ago. From the TV to the telephone, the light bulb to the car, modern conveniences
are firmly entrenched into our day-to-day lives.
The stories behind some of these ground-breaking inventions can be traced through
the associated patent applications. Here are six of the most fascinating backgrounds
behind inventions we use every day.
The light bulb
The patent for the light bulb went to Thomas Edison on 27 January 1880. It covered
every element contained within his incandescent lamp and is the patent behind the
domestic lightbulb.
Edison’s lack of formal education didn’t slow his innovative drive, and he became
one of the most prolific inventors ever. His research laboratories in New Jersey
created 1,093 patented inventions and innovations, ranging from the phonograph to
the moving picture camera.
Although scientists had been trying to come up with a practical light bulb for
domestic use for decades, it wasn’t until 1878 that Edison managed it. His
researchers ploughed through thousands of versions to finally emerge with the
invention that lit up our lives.

2. The television system
The first television system that captured moving images using a stream of electrons
was invented by 21-year-old Philo T Farnsworth in 1927. He began developing the
system while still in high school, and by 1934 his electronic television system had
made mechanical version obsolete.
The colour television
In 1925, Russian inventor Vladimir K Zworykin filed a patent disclosure for an
electronic colour TV system. However, this never became a reality, and it wasn’t until
the latter half of the 1940s that the first colour TV system was invented. Researchers
at RCA Labs eventually developed the colour TV, and the complex timeline of
information can be found here.
The phone
Perhaps the most impactful patent in history was granted to Alexander Graham Bell
in March 1876. Patent #174,465 was for the telephone, an invention that forever
changed the world we live in.
While today it’s an established fact that Bell invented the phone, his journey to
ownership of this title as complex. On 7 March 1876, Bell filed his patent application
just a few hours before a rival inventor Elisha Gray filed his, also for a telephone. It’s
unclear what happened on that day, but critics of Bell insist that he somehow altered
his patent after Gray filed his.
Many hundreds of lawsuits later, the world accepted Bell’s ownership of the
invention. The first of these was during the years immediately following the patent
awarded to him. Bell was struggling for money and offered his patent to Western
Union for $100,000. The company refused and set its sights on the telegram as the
future of communication.
When it became clear they had made a massive error, Western Union simply set
themselves up as a rival to Bell and made their own phones. A further 1,730
companies did the same, regardless of Bell’s patent. Following legal action, most of
these companies failed and Bell ended up founding comms giant AT&T in 1885.
The motorcar
In January 1886, Carl Benz applied for the patent that would lead to the first motor
car. US patent #37435 was for a “vehicle powered by a gas engine” and should be
thought of as the birth certificate for today’s car. In July 1886, the first three-wheeled
Benz Patent Motor Car was out in public.
Two years later, Carl’s wife (Bertha Benz) took her two sons on what would be the
world’s first long-distance car journey. She travelled from Mannheim to Pforzheim,
which is a distance of 180km. Not only was it a success on a personal level, it also

3. showed the world the potential of motor cars.
The electronic digital computer
The Atanasoff Berry Computer (ABC) was the first electronic digital computer to be
created. Built by Dr John Vincent Atanasoff and Clifford Berry, both from Iowa State
University, the ABC weighed 340kg (750lbs). It looked more like a heavy office desk,
rather than anything we know of today as a computer.
Despite its different appearance, the ABC included various functions that are still
used today. These include a binary numerical system, electronic amps, a
regenerative memory and separate memory and computing functions.
WW2 broke out before the ABC was patented, and Atanasoff and Berry focused on
other matters. In the meantime, inventors Eckert and Mauchly were developing the
Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC). They were granted the
patent for the first computer in 1964, but it was revoked in 1972 by a US District
Judge who found that they had essentially taken the invention from Dr Atanasoff.
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