People, Patents and Politics: Wright Bros. vs Glenn Curtiss - The Patent War

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Ask anyone today, “Who invented the airplane?”. The answer will be, the Wright brothers, of course. That was not the answer the Smithsonian Institution and others wanted to hear in 1914. In 1906, the Wright brothers were granted a “Pioneer Patent” and they intended to defend the rights associated with their patent. Glenn Curtiss and the Smithsonian Institution joined forces in an attempt to prove the Wright’s patent status was invalid. Glenn Curtiss’ goal was to circumvent the Wright’s patent and sell airplanes. The Smithsonian’s goal was to vindicate Samuel Langley and also the Smithsonian’s reputation by proving the Aerodrome was the “The First Man-Carrying Aeroplane Capable of Sustained Free Flight”, thereby overcoming the Wright’s patent claims. The resulting battle became known as the Patent War. The Wright-Curtiss feud persists to this day, as a proxy war – historians of early flight tend to deify one and demonize the other. The presentation will include an overview of the people, the patent and the politics associated with this Patent War, and include some excerpts found in the rare books located in SwRI’s library that are instrumental in understanding this battle.

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