U. S. Patent Office Records as Sources for the History of Invention and Technological Property

Abstract

THE RECORDS of the United States Patent Office remain largely unexplored by historians of technology despite the fact that they represent a tremendous body of original source material for the years 1790 to the present. Part of the explanation for the comparative neglect is the very volume and complexity of the records; yet other Federal records of greater complexity are not so immune to historical research. Aside from the question of the relative youthfulness of the history of technology, two factors are probably responsible for the little use made of the records. For one thing, they constitute the largest and most significant body of Federal central office records of the past century not yet completely in the National Archives.' Split between three administrative entities, the patent records are, in part, intermingled with trade mark documents; the inter-relations of the various series are not always clear; and there are significant gaps and omissions. Second, and most important, the records are uneven in quality or, rather, one kind of record fruitful for a specific type of research will disappoint a scholar with an entirely different problem. What follows is a general account of the Patent Office archives emphasizing the principal research opportunities afforded by each class of records. But before indulging in specifics, it will be necessary to understand certain characteristics of the patent system and its records. A patent is a special kind of property right, a monopoly grant of limited duration for the material version (i. e., device, process, or combination of matter) of an idea. Not all patents are for great inventions, great in terms of originality or of impact on the economy. The subjects of patents range from abstruse developments in atomic physics, electronics, and chemistry to fortune-telling crystal balls, from revolutionary changes to minor adaptations in existing devices. Nor is there any certainty that a patent will even be used. The issuance of a patent