Reingold, 1960
Nathan Reingold. "U. S. Patent Office Records as Sources for the History of Invention and Technological Property". Technology and Culture Vol. 1 No. 2 (Spring 1960), pp. 156–167.
This article gives some information about the physical archives dealing with patent applications, and some suggestions about directions for historical research.
A typical file consists of a jacket on which is recorded the steps in the administrative proceeding. If the file is complete (and most files since 1870 are), there should be a document or documents corresponding to each jacket entry. The first document after the application itself is usually a rejection by the examiner of one or more claims of the inventor. (It is very rare for a patent to issue exactly as submitted). (159)
And
At the heart of the operation is the patent examiner, historically an overworked and underpaid civil servant. The applications he scrutinizes are couched in language designed to yield the broadest patent property grant. Limiting the boundaries to their just dimensions is the crux of the examiner's work. The examiner-editor has quasi-judicial powers in appraising the novelty of the invention, and the resulting patent language may have great economic significance when the patent owner goes into the market place. (161)
| Original title | U. S. Patent Office Records as Sources for the History of Invention and Technological Property |
|---|---|
| Simple title | U. S. Patent Office Records as Sources for the History of Invention and Technological Property |
| Authors | Nathan Reingold |
| Date | 1960 |
| Countries | US |
| Languages | en |
| Keywords | patents, United States Patent Office |
| Journal | Technology and Culture |
| Related to aircraft? | 0 |
| Page count | 12 |
| Word count | |
| Wikidata id |
