Radio age research, manufacturing, communications, broadcasting, television (1941)

As Lincoln once said "the patent system . . . added the fuel of inter- est to the fire of genius in the dis- covery and production of new and useful things." He classed the in- troduction of patent laws with the arts of \vriting and printing, and with the discovery of America, as occurrences of peculiar value in fa- cilitating inventions and discov- eries. But there are those in high places whose words and actions are caus- ing so much confusion and misun- derstanding that there is danger of the patent system becoming im- paired and weakened and made ineffective as a medium for render- ing great public service. They are tinkering with an intricate but highly useful mechanism that has contributed greatly to the scientific and industrial supremacy of the United States, that has provided continually increasing employment for workers of all classes, and that has been of great social and eco- nomic significance. Strange Theories Advanced Many strange theories and doc- trines are being advanced by those who are apparently unsympathetic with patents. Among them none are more at variance with the in- tent of the patent laws than some of the tests of invention that have recently been proposed. One of them is the "flash of genius" test,— which is purely subjective and would provide only one process by which an invention could be made. More than a century ago when the patent system was young and its foundations were being laid, and when men still understood the Con- stitution, the United States Su- preme Court, through the eminent Mr. Justice Story, said: It is of no consequence whether the thing be simple or complicated; whether it be by accident, or by long, laborious thought, or by an instantane- ous flash of the mind, that it is first done. The law looks to the fact, and not to the process by which it is accomplished. It gives the first inventor or dis- coverer of the thing, the exclu- sive right, and asks nothing as to the mode or extent of the application of his genius to conceive or execute it. By the great preponderance of Court opinion since that time the objective test of invention has been ajjplied —namely, that it must be an advance in the art and involve the exercise of more than the expected skill of the calling; something that would not be obvious to one skilled in the art. The true test is whether or not the contribution substan- tially advanced the art, and not the mental or other processes by which the progress of the art was made possible. Invention Is Defined Then there are those who say that there is !io invention "in the exercise of persistent and intelli- gent search for improvement", and that "neither the result of great in(histry in experimental research nor the successful product of a gradual process of experimentation over a period is invention." According to this theory, step- by-step progress, and especially when made by two or more persons or a group working together in diligent and sustained effort to ad- vance a science or an art, would not be rewarded by patents on such s t e p s as constitute invention judged by the long-established standards. If this theory were gen- erally accepted, which fortunately it is not, it would discourage and destroy organized and systematic scientific research and put most re- search laboratories out of exist- ence. No more mischievous and wanton theory could be suggested. An idea is no less an invention because it is only a step forward. rather than a leap, or because it is based upon prior steps forward either by the same individual or another. If each step forward in- volves the exercise of more than would be obvious to persons skilled ill the art who are confronted with the problem, it is invention. Progressed Step-by-Step The sciences and arts have al- ways progressed by the step-by- step process. It is only the com- bination of many steps forward, and usually those of many people, that great progress is made. No single human mind has ever been great enough to conceive of, and to produce, such advances as radio communication, radar or television in fully perfected and useful form. These required long and tortuous effort and involved many ingenius steps by many contributors. Patents were obviously intended to promote progress whether by lone inventors, by joint inventors, by groups, by organized and sys- tematic efforts, by large and small laboratories, by flashes of genius, moments of incandescence, or by continuous, pei'sistent and perse- vering research and development. The patent laws do not discrimi- nate between the many ways of promoting progress which provide mankind with new services and goods, improved standards of liv- ing, greater employment and gen- eral betterment of the public welfare. Buy War Bonds LEFT: DR. H. H. BEVERAGE, ASSOCI.-\TE RESEARCH DIRECTOR OF RCA LABORATORIES; BELOW: DR. V. K. ZWORYKIN, ASSOCIATE RESEARCH DIRECTOR; E. W. ENGSTROM, RESEARCH DIRECTOR, AND B. J. THOMPSON, ASSOCIATE RESEARCH DIRECTOR. [RADIO AGE II]