The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-04-10
TODAY IN HISTORY
The First Patent Laws.
WHAT HAPPENED APRIL tC

The Constitution OF the United States
had, as one OF its articles, a provision
empowering congress with the right to
pass laws ITO promote the progress OF
science and useful arts. by securing for
limited times 10 authors and inventors.
the exclusive right TO their respective
writings and discoveries Congress at
an early day avaied itself OF this power.
and Bouvier's Law Dictionary SAYS: THE
ilrst act passed was that which estab-
lished the patent office, on the 10th OF
April. 1890. There were several supple
ments and notifications OF this law.
Applications for patents under this law
OF 1890 were required TO be made to a
board, consisting OF the secretary Of
state. the secretary OF war and the at
torncy general. y small fee, amour ting
TO less than five dollars. was charged for
the patent
The year 1896 marks the beginning OF
an era In the patent system OF the United
States. In that year all previous stat
utes were repealed and comprehensive
act was passed. which brought the syS-
tenn somewhat into It's present condition,
retaining many old features. but intro
ducins new and important changes In
the first place, 1t created a patent office.
to be attached to the department of
state, at the head Of which was TO be d
commissioner Of patents. The most inn
portant provision of the act OF 1886 was
the introduction of the policy OF prelim-
mary examinations for the purpose OF de-
tcrmining the patent ability OF an inven-
ton before Issuing the patent.
In 1892 provision was made for patent
ing designs for period OF seven wears.
BY an act OF 1851 the term Of patents
for inventions was extended from four
teen To seventeen years all former acts
discriminating between aliens and citizens
were repealed and uniform scale OF fees
was adopted.
The whole system OF patent legisla-
tion was again revised in 1870, and
brought into its present condition. AS
the laws now stand any person who has
discovered
ful art, machine, manufacture or compo
sition Of matter. or any new and use
ful improvement thereof, not known or
used by others in this country. and not
patented or described Ia any printed
publication in this or any foreign coun-
try before his invention or discovery
thereof, may upon payment OF the fee re-
quired by law obtain patent, These
patents are obtained by mailing appllca-
ton to the commissioner OF patents in
accordance with forms prescribed by
law,
In lS4o the patent office was trans
OF the interior, where 1t has since re-
mained. From the beginning provision
was made for the collection and preser-
walton of models. as a result OF which an
immense number OF specimens and de-
signs have been gathered.
In 1886 the building In which the mod
els were kept was burned. and many of
them we're destroyed, but congress made
duplicates OF the most valuable ones.
The total number OF applications for
patents fled at the patent office In sew
euty-two years. from 1887 to 1905. was
l ,5S6 2o9: number of caveats filed, 12L253
number OF original patents issued, $50 952
and n net surplus in the United States
treasury on account OF the patent fund.
50, $50. .725. The United States has issued
by all the other countries of the world
combined.