Patent Law News

Documents and Teaching Activities Related to Glidden's Patent for Barbed Wire Now Available Online from the National Archives

Life in the American West was reshaped by a series of patents for a simple tool that helped ranchers tame the land: barbed wire. Nine patents for improvements to wire fencing were granted by the U.S. Patent Office to American inventors, beginning with Michael Kelly in November 1868 and ending with Joseph Glidden in November 1874. Barbed wire not only simplified the work of the rancher and farmer, but it significantly affected political, social, and economic practices throughout the region. The swift emergence of this highly effective tool as the favored fencing method influenced life in the region as dramatically as the rifle, six-shooter, telegraph, windmill, and locomotive.

The background information describes the development of barbed wire and the teaching activities encourage educators and students to analyze the documents and draw conclusions about the impact of invention on the American West.

"Glidden's Patent Application for Barbed Wire" is the latest in a series of Digital Classroom exercises that the National Archives and Records Administration produces for teachers and students on the Website. Other subjects covered include exercises about the Constitution, the War with Mexico, and Watergate.

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	Did You Know?
	There is a time limit on patent protection. For applications filed on or after June 8, 1995, utility and plant patents are granted for a term which begins with the date of the grant and usually ends 20 years from the date you first applied for the patent subject to the payment of appropriate maintenance fees. Design patents last 14 years from the date you are granted the patent. Note: Patents in force on June 8 and patents issued thereafter on applications filed prior to June 8, 1995 automatically have a term that is the greater of the twenty year term discussed above or seventeen years from the patent grant.