Jerome H. Lemelson - American Hero or Villain?
This is about a person who ‘claimed’ to be an inventor yet there are claims that he apparently never made a single prototype. We know for a fact that he never manufactured or sold anything that he “invented”.
Jerome H. Lemelson was able to extract over 1.3 billion dollars from major corporations in a variety of industries by using submarine patents. A submarine patents is an informal term for a patent first published and granted long after the original application was filed. Analogous to a submarine being under water, the patent remains unpublished for long and is then granted and published, taking the whole market by surprise. Submarine patents could be issued decades after the initial filing date, during this period the claims of the patent could be ‘tweaked’ to more closely match the technology or products that have become the industry standard. By filing a succession of continuation applications (patent applications which follows the ‘original’ patent application), Lemelson was able to postpone the publication and grant of his patents by years. In 1992, Lemelson won the rights to a fundamental bar- code technology 38 years after filing the original patent. He went on to make around $500 million in settlements over the years from several major automakers.
The Change
In 1995, USPTO introduced a change which meant the period of patent protection is 20 years from the date of filing not the 20 years from the date of issue. There was no longer an advantage in using submarine patents. As a result inventors such as Lemelson would no longer be able to seek profit by delaying the issue of the filed patents to a more opportune time when enabling technologies make the patent worth alot more.
An Introduction
Jerome Lemelson is the holder of more than 550 patents and is recognized as one of the century’s five most prolific inventors. Over the last 40 years Lemelson received an average of one patent a month, achieving this feat without any support from established research institutions. Some of Lemelson’s inventions innovations include automated manufacturing systems, bar code readers, automatic teller machines, cordless phones, cassette players, camcorders, fax machines and even toys such as the crying doll. His breakthrough invention would be a universal robot that could measure, weld, rivet, transport and inspect for quality control using a new technology called machine vision. In 1953 he was awarded with his first patent for a toy cap, a variation of the propeller beanie.
In 1958 he became a full-time inventor after quitting his job and was one of the few people successful in making a living solely as an inventor. His forte was that he never specialized in a single field rather he was on the constant look out for innovative solutions to problems arising from different areas.
The Beginning
His first brush with patent infringement came after his patented idea for a cut-out mask that could be printed on the back of cereal boxes. It was first rejected by a major cereal manufacturer and was copied a couple of years later. His case was dismissed from court and dismissed again on appeal. This was his first of many courtroom battles. This incident sparked a revolution of sorts which lead to his crusade to defend the rights of independent inventors against corporate giants. Over the last 45 years he has been involved in more than 20 cases and has lost more times than he has won.
The Defeat
In 2004, Lemelson’s estate was defeated in a court case that involved Symbol Technologies and Cognex Corporation, manufacturer of commercial machine vision systems. The ruing was that 76 claims under Lemelson’s machine vision patents were unenforceable. The ruling was upheld by a three judge panel in September 2005 under the doctrine of laches (Negligence or undue delay in asserting a legal right or privilege). Lemelson’s estate appealed for review of the full circuit en banc (session where the entire membership of the court will participate in the decision rather than the regular quorum). In November 2005, the full court declined to review the case extending the original unenforceability ruling to all claims under the patents in question.
The Philanthropist
In the 1990’s the Lemelson Foundation was established and actively funded programs that encouraged aspiring inventors and entrepreneurs. The Lemelson-MIT Prize Program is one such program that gives out several awards, including $500,000 presented to an outstanding American inventor-innovator each year (largest invention prize). He also donated money to create the Lemelson National Program in Invention and the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. The Lemelson Foundation continues to donate to the Invention for Sustainable Development Program, which encourages inventions that meet basic human needs and build sustainable livelihoods for the world’s poor people.
The Demise
He was diagnosed with liver cancer in 1996 which lead to his interest in inventing improvements to medical devices and methodologies for the treatment of cancer. He died a year later before which he submitted nearly 40 patent applications within the year.
Begging the Question
His many detractors claim that he was ‘one of the great frauds of the 20th century’ and that his patents mean nothing. On the other hand his proponents claim that his contribution to American society as an innovator and entrepreneur far outweighs the value of his charitable work as a philanthropist. Did Lemelson indeed contribute to society as his proponents claimed or was he just a shrewd businessman as his detractors would say?
Links:
http://www.lemelson.org/home/index.php
http://www.lemelson.org/programs/lemelson_mit_awards.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemelson
http://bellsouthpwp.net/l/a/laurergj/UPC/lemelson.html
