Edwin J. Prindle (1868-1948) contributed to the development of the current U.S. patent law system. He worked in the

US Patent Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexan ...

until 1899, then set up his own patent practice in 1905. Held posts of the Secretary of the Patent Committee of the

National Research Council National Research Council may refer to: * National Research Council (Canada), sponsoring research and development * National Research Council (Italy), scientific and technological research, Rome * National Research Council (United States), part of ...

and later Chairman of the Patent Committee of the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all d ...

. He wrote a number of documents on the subject of

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

law, most notably a set of articles entitled "Patents in Manufacturing Business". These formed the ideological basis for companies' use of the patent system as a protectionist tool of private

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...

. He was an advocate of the patent system in general, but most notably as a fundamental tool of business and corporate control over rivals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prindle, Edwin J. 1868 births 1948 deaths United States patent law