Stolen Inventions! Why Patents Exist

History has proven, time and again, why patent law matters. There are countless cases in which someone's idea was taken simply because it was never properly patented. Once you learn a few of these true stories of borrowed and stolen inventions, you may be far more convinced of the need to protect your invention before it is too late.

Einstein and the Theory of Relativity

When people hear the name of the brilliant physicist Albert Einstein, they assume he single-handedly discovered the theory of relativity — that is what most of us were taught at school and university. Yet others had a hand in it: Hendrik Lorentz, a Dutch physicist, and Henri Poincaré, a French mathematician, laid down foundational principles of relativity on which Einstein built his theory. Although Einstein published extensively on relativity, Lorentz and Poincaré received little credit for their contributions to those discoveries.

Alexander Graham Bell and the Telephone

Everyone credits Alexander Graham Bell with inventing the telephone — but the idea may well have been taken from a man who had no patent attorney to protect it. According to historical records, the Italian inventor Antonio Meucci built the first telephone in 1860, calling his invention the "teletrofono". Meucci filed a provisional patent for his idea but failed to renew it. Bell later pursued the concept, secured the patent, and is now remembered as the genius inventor of the telephone.

Galileo and the Telescope

The Italian astronomer Galileo is popularly credited with inventing the telescope. In fact, the first telescope concept came from a Dutchman named Hans Lippershey, who even sought a patent for it in 1608 — an application that was rejected without clear justification. After hearing of Lippershey's work, Galileo built his own version, and because his claim endured he is forever credited as the telescope's principal inventor.

These examples alone should convince you: file for a patent the moment the idea crosses your mind.