(can be enlarged)
found by GB
Patents
(i.e., of the expired ones)
Toolmakers: active years
Germany
246,904
September 13, 1881
Anonymous
Germany
309,887
December 30, 1884
Germany
Fribrora D.R.P.
Craftsman
Germany
| German brace(s) |
American
manufacturers with adequate
resources could economically have their engineers and legal
representatives examine proposed tool designs with a view towards
picking long-used designs known for their ruggedness and ease of
manufacture while avoiding infringement of active patents. This also
was necessary in order to obtain protection of an innovative design or
substantial improvement. On the other hand, German manufacturers had a language barrier that increased the cost of navigating the United States' extensive patent literature and laws, so they generally chose an alternative plan: Follow the teachings of an expired U.S. patent, which the U.S. patent laws essentially required American inventors to make possible in order for the patent to be awarded in the first place. |
| Inventor/Maker | Representative Images (can be enlarged) | Examples found by GB | Expired Patents | Patent Dates (i.e., of the expired ones) | Directory of American
Toolmakers: active years |
| Barber; Peck/ Germany |
|
12, 30 | 42,827 246,904 |
May 24, 1864 September 13, 1881 |
|
| H.C. Hart/ Anonymous |
|
138 | 207,964 |
September 10, 1878 |
|
| H.L.Pratt; A. Shepard/ Germany |
|
75 | 200,757 309,887 |
February 26, 1878 December 30, 1884 |
|
| Obed Peck/ Germany |
|
116 | 246,904 |
September 13, 1881 |
|
| L.L. Davis/ Fribrora D.R.P. |
|
115 | 432,180 |
July 15, 1890 |
|
| H.V. Smith/ Craftsman |
|
103 | 505,611 |
September 26, 1893 |
|
| Giantgrip/ Germany |
|
132 | none |
none |