Japan
The Japanese patent office at the time of early aviation was . . . and the current one is . . . .
Japan procured a silk balloon from Yon in 1890 but didn't find it useful. Later they purchased a kite-balloon from Riedinger in Augsburg. They continued building their aeronautical forces and used them in the war with Russia. [1] In 1912 they reportedly bought a German airship, Parseval XIII.
JP is an abbreviation in this wiki referring to Japan.
Relevant early inventors, authors, managers, and pilots:
- Great early kite inventor Chuhachi Ninomiya (see en.wp) may not have gotten patents.[2]
- Relevant aero inventors include Captain Kumazo Hino and perhaps his co-patentee Tomijiro Komuro, who may have worked on aircraft. Hino went to Germany for training and there is a book about it.
- Navy engineer Sanji Narahara contributed a propeller or propeller design.[3]
- Captain Yoshitoshi Tokugawa went to France for training.[3][2]
Patents were granted by the Japanese government starting in 1885. "Invention Day is a day that Patent Monopoly Act which is the predecessor of the current Patent Law was promulgated on April 18, 1885 (year 18 of the Meiji Era) by Korekiyo Takahashi who served as the first Commissioner of the Japan Patent Office and others."[4]
Searches for patents are possible here: https://www4.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/eng/tokujitsu/tjkt_en/TJKT_EN_GM201_KeywordSearchCount.action I didn't get any hits and may write to their helpdesk, which had an email address, not in front of me right now.
Peter has ordered a book on Hino's time in Germany. This book is relevant too but too expensive for the moment.
References
Patents filed in Japan: Patent JP-1899-4164, Patent JP-1929-Vogt
Patents filed by persons from Japan: Patent JP-1899-4164, Patent US-1912-1037658, Patent US-1917-1228705
