black321 wrote: 

Kudos to you for raising the topic, it's really a fascinating one. From the perspective of people like Henry Ford and others actually trying to make and sell autos, Selden and the trust that was trying to enforce his patent undoubtedly seemed like a shady crew of opportunistic scammers (what would today be called patent trolls by those on the West coast), because they weren't engaged in ongoing manufacturing efforts.

Wrangling over patent rights is as old as the patent system itself. If you read the story of Selden's patent that I provided a link to, you will notice the name of one Colonel Albert A. Pope, who founded the Columbia Bicycle Company. Colonel Pope was intimately familiar with the idea of owning dominating patents in order to extract licensing fees from competitors and allow for higher prices on products.

Bicycle Patent Wars part 1

Bicycle Patent Wars part 2

Bicycle Patent Wars part 3

 Manbird wrote: 
Can't get anything by that dude.

 black321 wrote: 
Nice try.

 aflanigan wrote:  i stand corrected!

 black321 wrote: 
Nice try, but no.

Selden actually was an inventor; by 1878 he had made a working prototype of a Brayton Cycle engine similar to the one he had seen at the 1876 Centennial exposition in Philadelphia (this was fifteen years before the Duryea brothers demonstrated a working vehicle using an Otto cycle engine in Springfield, MA). He applied for a patent the following year, in 1879, eight years before the public introduction of Benz' Patent Motorwagen.

from Wikipedia:


Clearly, he didn't notice other people's inventive work and decide to copy their work and patent it as his own; he never would have been eligible for a patent had he done this.

It's impossible to say with complete certainty if the 16 year delay in the issuance of his patent (Nov. 1895) was a calculated delay, or unintentional. Most of what I have read on the subject leans strongly towards Selden knowing what he was doing, although he protested that much of the delay was caused by his trying to line up capital investors. Regardless, it positioned him well, since the 17 year term of his patent, which was issued in 1895, covered the period where manufacturing of automobiles finally took off. But the story of how his patent ended up in the hands of a coalition or trust seeking to extract royalties from various auto manufacturers is a fascinating and improbable one (see the link below).

The finding of the appellate court in favor of Ford does not appear to be based on Selden's patent being "too broad", or invalid, but rather on finding that his patent only covered vehicles using Brayton Cycle engines. Otto Cycle engines of the type Ford was using in his products were not deemed to be covered by the scope of Selden's patent.

Lots of information about Selden's patent and the legal battles HERE

 Red_Dragon wrote: 




On this day in 1895, a patent was issued to George B. Selden. It was the kind of patent mere mortals could only dream of. It ranked at or above those granted for the telephone or the electric light. What was it that Selden had invented that was so great - - it was the automobile - - only Selden didn't invent it.
Selden was a clever chap who had noticed the products being produced by the Duryea Brothers and Ransom Olds, in the preceding two decades. He had even read of the work of Karl Benz in Europe.
Since he was a patent attorney, he devised a broad based patent to cover all future automobiles. As the 1900's began, autos began to sell. Selden grabbed some Wall Street buddies and began to sue the early producers. Each one caved and Selden's Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers began to get a royalty from everybody.
In 1903, a guy named Henry Ford applied for membership. Hoping to up the ante, they turned Ford down. Ford (my hero - - he once said the role of your body is to carry your brain around) choose to keep making cars. For six years, they fought in Federal Court. Then a judge said Selden's patent was valid. The effect was electric. Everybody, including GM, decided to pay. Selden and the Wall Street types, sensing billions, magnanimously offered to let Mr. Ford pay at the old rate.
Ford told them where to place their offer and took them to Appeals Court, claiming the patent was too broad and counterclaiming they owned him and other damages. Two years later a judge with a sense of humor and a way with words held that Ford was right. Knowing when to cut and run (and save damages), the Selden/Wall Street Crowd puppied up. The automobile business was wide open and Ford became a multi-billionaire.

1895 – George B. Selden is granted the first U.S. patent for an automobile.

1872 – Women's suffrage in the United States: In defiance of the law, suffragist Susan B. Anthony votes for the first time, and is later fined $100.

 Red_Dragon wrote: 

Actually, NSC Intelligence Directive 9 was primarily a rebranding/renaming of what was first constituted in 1949 as the Armed Forces Security Agency (AFSA). The NSA has its roots even farther back than this, going all the way back to an organization officially entitled M.I. 8, and known as the American Black Chamber:

The Many Lives of Herbert O. Yardley

1994 – San Francisco: First conference that focuses exclusively on the subject of the commercial potential of the World Wide Web.

1952 – The United States government establishes the National Security Agency, or NSA.

1896 – A picture showing the bare breasts of a woman appears in National Geographic magazine for the first time.

1848 – In Boston, Massachusetts, the first medical school for women, The Boston Female Medical School (which later merged with the Boston University School of Medicine), opens.

1604 – William Shakespeare's tragedy Othello is performed for the first time, at Whitehall Palace in London.

1512 – The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo, is exhibited to the public for the first time.

On this day in (approx.) 823 B.C., the most inventive, charming and clever people ever to grace God's green earth came up with yet another ingenious idea. They were, of course, the Irish (at this time A/K/A the Celts). Being bright they did not labor upon the obvious. So they let somebody else invent fire, the wheel, iron, astronomy, writing, calendars, etc. These they figured they could copy - - and boy did they. These clever folks....well.....they tended to save their strength for what was really important.
By this stratagem, even 1000 years earlier, while pagan types were grappling with such mediocrity as pyramids, irrigation and geometry, the Celts had learned to distill grain. This miracle medicinal cure (which would maintain mankind for over 3000 years) they called Usquebah. The amazed and very indebted rest of the world mistranslated the name as "whiskey".
So for a millennia these wise and whiskey-witty folk enjoyed good health and good fellowship. Then as this particular day approached (circa 823 B.C.), gender problems arose. The women began expecting the men to hang out close to the cave as the evening came earlier each fall. If civilization were to progress, this would never do!
So the Celtic elders came up with the second great invention. They called it "Samhain" or end of summer. They explained to the women that as the season changed, ghosts, goblins and evil spirits came forth to threaten all humans. In order to protect the women and children, the men folk selflessly would have to put on old clothes, take some jugs of the magic Usquebah (possible snake bite you know) and go into the hills and light fires.
For nearly 1500 years the tradition held. Then came the good St. Patrick who was wise enough to keep the Usquebah but drove out the snakes.
Conveniently, his Christian teaching did say that November 1st was the Feast of All Saints (or "All Hallows"). So it only seemed logical that if the saints were coming out, the devils would have one last fling. So, snakes or not, we would still need those reliable old clothes, bonfires and protective booze on the eve of "All Hallows" or Hallow's Evening or Halloween.

2011 – The global population of humans reached seven billion. This day is now recognized by the United Nations as Seven Billion Day.

2000 – Soyuz TM-31 launches, carrying the first resident crew to the International Space Station. The ISS has been crewed continuously since then.