New York Patent Attorney

More Patents filed by New York Patent Attorneys

Toilet Paper Roll

Seth Wheeler – Albany, NY

Seth Wheeler owned the Albany Perforated Wrapping Paper Company, the first business to sell toilet paper on a roll. Over the course of his lifetime, Wheeler would go on to receive more than 100 patents, many related to toilet paper. Two of Seth Wheeler’s most notable inventions: the toilet paper roll and the paper’s perforation. He also received patents for a multiroll toilet paper holder, a toilet paper fixture, and a process for ornamenting toilet paper to give it a pleasing diamond-patterned look.

Closed-Circuit Television Security System

Marie Van Brittan Brown – Jamaica, NY

Brown patented a home security system, the first closed-circuit television (CCTV) security system, which paved the way for modern home security systems used today. While working late hours as a nurse and fearful of being vulnerable in a high crime neighborhood at night, Marie Van Brittan Brown decided to figure out a way to see who was at her door if she heard knocking. In 1966, with the assistance of her husband, she invented a security system which consisted of four peepholes, a sliding camera, television monitors, two-way microphones, and a remote that would allow her to either unlock the door at a safer distance or press an emergency button that could send an alarm to police or security.

Escalator

George A. Wheeler – New York, NY

George A. Wheeler patented the first practical moving staircase. His patented “Elevator” was similar to what we know as the modern escalator and was the version that took hold in the market. It comprised steps that emerged from the floor and flattened at the end. Charles Seeberger bought Wheeler’s “Elevator” patents in 1899 and quickly struck a deal with the Otis Elevator Company to produce moving staircases. Seeberger also coined the term “escalator” —- from the French “l’escalade”, to signify climbing — and registered the trademark Escalator.

New York Patent Stats

New York State Ranks #2 for Most Issued Patents

With a grand total of 222,328 patents issued to New York inventors across all years, NY State ranks #2 out of all states for the most issued patents. That makes New York patent attorneys some of the busiest in the country.

NY Ranks #3 in the World for Clean Energy Patents

New York state ranks third in the world for the most clean energy patents issued in the third quarter of 2012. The Clean Energy Patent Growth Index shows that the majority of the 63 patents issued during that period went to Upstate New York inventors. Upstate New York, and Rochester in particular, is one of the world leaders in battery and energy storage, including fuel cells. Many patents also focused on inventions related to wind energy, which could potentially attract international companies. The clean tech industry is likely to have a large economic impact in upstate New York.

Six New York Universities Ranked in the Top 100 Universities Worldwide for US Patents

For the 2018 ranking of the Top 100 Worldwide Universities Granted U.S. Utility Patents, six NY Universities made the top 100 list. Columbia ranked #15, Cornell #23, the Research Foundation of State University of New York (SUNY) #30, New York University #31, Rochester #82, and the Research Foundation of City University of New York (CUNY) #93.

Cazenovia, New York: Home to the Largest Private Collection of Patent Models

For 90 Years, from 1790 to 1880, the U.S. Patent Office required every Patent Application to be accompanied by a working scale model of the invention, no larger than 12 inches on each side. The American patent system was the only one in the world to mandate the submission of a model with a Patent Application. The Patent Office exhibited these patent models in the grand galleries of Washington D.C.’s Patent Office Building, a display of inventions that spanned industries, produced by inventors from all walks of life, and which embodied inspiring stories of ingenuity and entrepreneurship. Devastating Patent Office fires in 1836 and 1877 destroyed or damaged more than 100,000 models. Finally in 1880, the Patent Office stopped requiring models, mostly because it was running out of space to store them. Some models were returned to the descendants of the inventors, approximately 10,000 were acquired by the Smithsonian Institution, and the remaining models were sold at auction.

The Rothschild Petersen Patent Model Museum in Cazenovia, New York, maintains the largest private collection of patent models, all equipped with their original patent tags: attached by tiny bits of government-issued red ribbon. That’s where the phrase ‘red tape’ comes from.

Windmill patent

Coffee-pot patent

Street-Lamp patent

Roller-Skate patent

New York Inventor First African-American to Obtain a U.S. Patent

New York inventor Thomas L. Jennings was the first African-American granted a patent by the United States. A tailor and clothier by trade, he started out as an apprentice to a prominent New York tailor before opening what would become a large and successful clothing shop in Lower Manhattan. During this time, Jennings began experimenting with chemicals to remove stains from his customer’s expensive clothing. In 1821, Jennings received a patent for a process called “dry scouring”, a method for removing dirt and grease from clothing that would lead to today’s dry cleaning industry. Unfortunately, we’ll never know exactly what the dry scouring method involved. In 1836, a massive fire destroyed the US Patent House in Washington D.C. and approximately 10,000 patents were lost during the blaze, including Jennings’ Patent x3306.

Under the Patent Act of 1793, an individual had to sign an oath declaring that he was a citizen of the United States. Jennings’ patent was significant and controversial at the time because the patent explicitly recognized Jennings as a free citizen of the United States. For the great majority of black people in America before the Civil War, patents were unobtainable, as an enslaved person’s inventions legally belonged to their master.

With the success of his business and patent, Jennings became a leader in the abolitionist and civil rights movement in New York City. Much of his substantial earnings from the invention supported a number of charities and legal aid societies, as well as Freedom’s Journal, the first black-owned newspaper in America.