Page 4 The Skanner BLACK HISTORY EDITION February 22, 2017
Black History
The U.S. Has Always Had Black Inventors — Who Haven’t Always Had Patents
By Shontavia Johnson,
Drake University
A
merica has long
been the land of
innovation. More
than 13,000 years
ago, the Clovis people
created what many call
the “first American in-
vention” – a stone tool
used primarily to hunt
large game. This spirit of
American creativity has
persisted through the
millennia, through the
first American patent
granted in 1641 and on to
today.
One group of prolific
innovators,
however,
has been largely ignored
by history: Black in-
ventors born or forced
into American slavery.
Though U.S. patent law
was created with col-
or-blind language to fos-
ter innovation, the pat-
ent system consistently
excluded these inventors
from recognition.
As a law professor and
a licensed patent attor-
ney, I understand both
the importance of pro-
tecting inventions and
the negative impact of
being unable to use the
law to do so. But despite
patents being largely out
of reach to them through-
out early U.S. history,
both slaves and free Af-
rican Americans did in-
vent and innovate.
Why patents matter
In many countries
around the world, in-
novation is fostered
through a patent system.
Patents give inventors a
monopoly over their in-
vention for a limited time
period, allowing them, if
they wish, to make mon-
ey through things like
sales and licensing.
The patent system has
long been the heart of
America’s
innovation
policy. As a way to re-
coup costs, patents pro-
vide strong incentives
for inventors, who can
spend millions of dollars
and a significant amount
of time developing a in-
vention.
The history of patents
in America is older than
the U.S. Constitution,
with several colonies
granting patents years
“
ing patents. In 1857, the
U.S. commissioner of pat-
ents officially ruled that
slave inventions couldn’t
be patented.
Slaves’ inventions
exploited by owners
During the 17th and
18th centuries, America
was experiencing rapid
economic growth. Black
inventors were major
contributors during this
era — even though most
Slave owners often took cred-
it for their slaves’ inventions
before the Constitution
was created. In 1787,
however, members of
the Constitutional Con-
vention opened the pat-
ent process up to people
nationwide by drafting
what has come to be
known as the Patent and
Copyright Clause of the
Constitution. It allows
Congress:
“To promote the Progress
of Science and useful Arts,
by securing for limited
Times to Authors and In-
ventors the exclusive Right
to their respective Writ-
ings and Discoveries.”
“This language gives in-
ventors exclusive rights
to their inventions. It
forms the foundation
for today’s nationwide,
federal patent system,
which no longer allows
states to grant patents.
Though the language
itself was race-neutral,
like many of the rights
set forth in the Constitu-
tion, the patent system
didn’t apply for Black
Americans born into
slavery. Slaves were not
considered
American
citizens and laws at the
time prevented them
from applying for or
holding property, includ-
did not obtain any of the
benefits associated with
their inventions since
they could not receive
patent protection.
Slave owners often
took credit for their
slaves’ inventions. In one
well-documented case,
a Black inventor named
Ned invented an effec-
tive, innovative cotton
scraper. His slave master,
Oscar Stewart, attempt-
ed to patent the inven-
tion. Because Stewart
was not the actual inven-
tor, and because the actu-
al inventor was born into
slavery, the application
was rejected.
Stewart ultimately be-
gan selling the cotton
scraper without the ben-
efit of patent protection
and made a significant
amount of money doing
so. In his advertisements,
he openly touted that the
product was “the inven-
tion of a Negro slave —
thus giving the lie to the
abolition cry that slavery
dwarfs the mind of the
Negro. When did a free
Negro ever invent any-
thing?”
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