ABSTRACT
For 200 years, millions of inventors have sought to protect their inventions through the American patent system. These patented inventions include Thomas Edison’s electric lamp, Alexander Graham Bell’s telegraphy, Orville and Wilbur Wright’s flying machine, John Deere’s steel plow, George Washington Carver’s use of legume oils to produce cosmetics and paint, and Edwin Land’s Polaroid camera. Today, more than six million patents later, the world is a much better place to live because of inventions that have improved our lives, from the making of Po.tash (Figure 1.1) to gene therapy.
