The Wright Brothers

The Wright Brothers. David McCullough, NY, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2015. ISBN 978-1-4767-2874-2. 368 p. $30

The Wright Lawsuit

While the flights of the Wright brothers over a century ago have enshrined their names in aeronautical history, only slightly less important are the lawsuits brought forth by the brothers in defense of their invention. From 1906 to 1917 the Wright brothers maintained a successful stranglehold on the development and production of the airplane in the United States. This paper examines that history, the ensuing litigation, and the impact that the Wright brothers actions had upon the readiness of the U.S. in World War I

Defining Patent Scope by the Novelty of the Idea

Patent law defines novelty by the creation of a new embodiment, not an idea. For example, the Wright brothers are deemed to have invented the airplane because nobody made an airplane before, not because they were the first to think of flying. Patent law then defines monopoly scope through a theory of disclosure of embodiments: despite the airplane being new, the Wright brothers could not patent every airplane, ostensibly because they did not teach how to make every airplane embodiment (such as a jet fighter). Disclosure theory, however, is incoherent. Patent law cannot confine the Wright brothers to the embodiment they actually taught—a barely-flying wooden glider—since doing so would eviscerate incentives. But once we say that patents can cover more, disclosure theory provides no limit. If the Wright brothers could cover some undisclosed airplanes, why not all undisclosed airplanes? I argue in this Article for a different theory. In order to be fairly credited as the inventor of something, the patentee must be the first to articulate the idea of that thing. The Wright brothers could not patent all airplanes under this theory, not because they did not disclose how to build every airplane, but because the idea of airplanes was old. By keying patent scope to the novelty of the idea rather than the disclosure of embodiments, my rule provides a fairer and more accurate measure of the patentee’s contribution

The Wright Brothers: First Aeronautical Engineers and Test Pilots

Sir George Cayley invented the conventional configuration of the airplane at the turn of the 19th century. Otto Lilienthal realized that building a successful aircraft meant learning how to fly; he became the first hang glider pilot and also the first flight fatality in 1896. Beginning in the late 1890s, the Wright Brothers absorbed all that was known in aeronautics before them, then added their own discoveries and developed the first successful airplane. Technically, their greatest fundamental achievement was their invention of three-axis aerodynamic control. Less obviously, their success was a consequence of style, their manner of working out their ideas and of progressing systematically to their stunning achievements. They were indeed the first aeronautical engineers, understanding as best they could all aspects of their aircraft and flying. They were thinkers, designers, constructors, analysts, and especially flight-testpilots. Their powers of observation and interpretation of the behavior of their aircraft in flight were remarkable and essential to their development of the airplane. Their work in the period 1899–1905 constitutes the first true research and development program carried out in the style of the 20th century. As the centenary of their first powered flights approaches, the Wright Brothers’ magnificent achievements excite growing admiration and respect for their achievements. The broad features of their accomplishments have long been well known. Only in the past two decades has serious attention been directed to the scientific and technical content of their work, to explain the nature of the problems they faced and how they solved them. After a century’s progress in aeronautics, the principles, understanding,and methods not available to the Wrights provide the basis for interpreting in modern terms the experiences that the Wrights themselves documented so meticulously in their diaries, papers, and correspondence. It is a unique opportunity in the history of technology

The Wright Brothers, Government Support for Aeronautical Research, and the Progress of Flight

The article, The Wright Brothers, Government Support for Aeronautical Research, and the Progress of Flight, was presented by Roger D. Launius at the Following the Footsteps of the Wright Brothers: Their Sites and Stories Symposium at Wright State University, September 28, 2001. In the article Launius discusses the slow development of the aircraft and how the United States lagged in further research and development of the air service

The Wright Brothers’ Patent Lawsuits

The Wright Brothers pioneered the first sustained, powered, heavier than air, manned flight on December 17, 1903 (Garber, 1978). Some say that the Wrights\u27 invention and innovation brought the aerial age into being (Douglas, 2003, p. 367). Having invented something truly unique and accomplishing it before anyone else, the Wrights took prompt action to protect their invention by filing patent applications in the United States, France, Germany and Great Britain (Johnson, 2004). Once these patent applications were accepted, the Wrights spent significant amounts of time and money defending their patents (Johnson, 2004). Ultimately, the Wrights recovered little in return for their herculean efforts, and further developments of the airplane by the Wrights languished as they sought to protect what they had wrought. A student of aviation history might ask if the Wrights were right or wrong to devote so much effort to protecting their patents, when ultimately, they recovered so little, at such a great expense. This paper contends that they were ultimately right

Book Review: Aviation History Lite

Review of The Wright Brothers by David McCullough (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2015

The aerospace technology laboratory (a perspective, then and now)

The physical changes that have taken place in aerospace facilities since the Wright brothers' accomplishment 78 years ago are highlighted. For illustrative purposes some of the technical facilities and operations of the NASA Lewis Research Center are described. These simulation facilities were designed to support research and technology studies in aerospace propulsion

The Impact of Securities Laws on Developing Companies: Would the Wright Brothers Have Gotten Off the Ground?

Suppose the Wright brothers, to pursue their dreams of manned flight, needed outside financing. Confronted with the intimidating regulatory requirements of today \u27s state and federal securities laws, would they ever have gotten off the ground? With historical illustrations, this Essay presents an entertaining look at the serious problems that would be encountered today by entrepreneurs who have ideas but need capital to develop them. It analyzes the regulatory maze and prohibitions of state and federal securities laws and concludes that, in today\u27s marketplace, the Wright brothers probably would have violated several laws to obtain essential financing for their venture

The Impact of Securities Laws on Developing Companies: Would the Wright Brothers Have Gotten Off the Ground?

Suppose the Wright brothers, to pursue their dreams of manned flight, needed outside financing. Confronted with the intimidating regulatory requirements of today \u27s state and federal securities laws, would they ever have gotten off the ground? With historical illustrations, this Essay presents an entertaining look at the serious problems that would be encountered today by entrepreneurs who have ideas but need capital to develop them. It analyzes the regulatory maze and prohibitions of state and federal securities laws and concludes that, in today\u27s marketplace, the Wright brothers probably would have violated several laws to obtain essential financing for their venture