George B. Selden

George Baldwin Selden ( born September 14, 1846 in Clarkson, New York, † January 17, 1922 in Rochester, New York) was a patent attorney and inventor. In 1895 he received a patent on an automobile.

Family

His father, Henry Rogers Selden, was a prominent lawyer, judge and politician. George studied law and joined in 1871 the firm of his father. At times, he represented the photography pioneer George Eastman in patent matters.

Selden was an amateur inventor, in the basement workshop of his father he invented, among other things, a typewriter.

Selden Patent

The episode of the Selden patent from 1879 is one principle in the history of the automobile, and especially in the USA, because it shows the attempt to get a monopoly on the production car as well as for large auto factories. Henry Ford and Thomas Buckland Jeffery waged a court battle against this patent, which was the most powerful financial interests in the history of the car. It was an unsuccessful attempt to secure a control for the budding auto industry and Selden saw the potential in the automotive industry by trying to use the patents for it.

Selden applied for a patent on all prototypes and for future cars, as a basic road vehicle, which was driven by a gasoline engine. The automotive industry was straight and the monopoly patents were on the peak by this had impact on the economy. These facts would Selden, easy in the current state for himself, and influenced the future growth of the automotive industry. He applied for a patent, without ever having previously made ​​a car. It was an idea to become as rich quick, because the first cars with petrol engines have been built in America around the year 1892 by Charles Duryea and Selden had previously filed his patent application. In 1896 produced Charles King, Ransom Olds and Henry Ford their first cars. The inventors applications for similar patents also existed in France for Edouard Delamare 1860. In 1886, almost a decade after the Selden patent application, Karl Benz received a similar patent for a gasoline -powered car in Germany. For the Selden patent no real good motor vehicle was available, but only a test vehicle. Selden was a patent retroactively can apply from the year 1877. But because there was no real ready-made automobile, now a permanent wheeled car had to be built from Selden. It has also been built, but it could hardly be operated because it could only walk short due to mechanical difficulties. The car had the very first two-stage gears for land vehicles was the previously built with a reverse gear and was part of the Selden patent.

Selden hoped that a considerable fortune from patent and from the resulting royalties. Some producers of other goods and goods had been very well deserved in this way. The time was favorable and hedge acquisition by a patent on all sides, it had to be wheeled for gasoline-powered passenger cars with four ( 4). Selden had managed to date to patent in order to delay the start of 16 years and produce a car by then. His patent application, U.S. Patent No. 549,160 on May 8, 1879 only ended on November 5, 1895, Selden was with legal maneuvers and manipulations of the process in court to delay until his patent was valid.

By 1900, the number of car manufacturers grew rapidly. Because of the delay tactics of Selden, there was a prolonged legal battle, for example, with the Winton Motor Carriage Company of Cleveland and other automakers, all banded together in 1903 in the " Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers ' ( ALAM ). From 1896 they had to pay for the Selden patent, a license fee of 1.25% on the list price for each car produced. In 1899 Selden sold also license patent rights to William C. Whitney, the electrically -powered taxis in the Electric Vehicle Company ( EVC) could be prepared and Selden got a license fee of $ 15 per car, as well as an annual amount of $ 5,000. Selden and Whitney, however, worked together afterwards to collect royalties from other budding automobile manufacturers. New negotiations on a royalty of 0.75% of all vehicles were sold to the Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers ( ALAM ). Selden founded now in Rochester his own car factory, " Selden Motor Vehicle Company ".

However, Henry Ford, owner of the Ford Motor Company and four other automakers were not with the Selden Patent agree tactics and a suit for patent infringement of Selden and EVC decided to submit. The court battle lasted eight years and all newspapers reported on the process that ended with a victory for Selden. In opting for the Selden patent was held that each vehicle would fall with a petrol engine underneath. With a loan of $ 350,000 Ford had filed an appeal with which he was successful on 10 January 1911. Set out was, among other things, that the delays in the production of Selden cars in two factors spoke against the Selden patent. The first argument of Ford was referring to an engine that was not used in the patent car, because this was not based on the system of George Brayton but on a petrol engine. The second argument referred to the barely functional car, with the two allegations Ford got right. The ongoing detailed discussion in the courts with Henry Ford had led to the invalidity of the Selden patent and the automotive industry very helped the upturn.

Despite defeat is believed that Selden earned with his patent monopoly several $ 100,000 in royalties. Now Selden concentrated on his own car production, the Selden Motor Vehicle Company, and founded a new company " Selden Truck Sales Corporation " for trucks. His company was still able to produce up to 1930 until the company was acquired by the Bethlehem Truck Company. Selden suffered a stroke in late 1921 and died on January 17, 1922 at the age of 75 years.