First U.S. gas auto patentIn 1895, George B. Selden of Rochester, New York, received the first U.S. patent for a gasoline-driven automobile. In the patent, which he had filed several years earlier, on 8 May 1879, he described not only the engine but also a complete automobile incorporating such features as a clutch, compressed air self-starter, and steering system (No. 549,160). Seldon maintained that it was the combination of these elements, together with his engine, made the road-engine patentable. As a patent attorney, he knew to delay the issue of the patent by sending ammendments and other communications every two years. Meanwhile, others did the hard work of developing the automobile, and his patent became more valuable. Years of legal wrangling for profits followed. |
