Edison, Thomas Alva
Inventor and entrepreneur Thomas A. Edison (1847–1931) was born in Milan, Ohio, on February 11, and became the most prolific inventor in U.S. history, with a record 1,093 patents. Through his technological innovations and companies, "The Wizard of Menlo Park" (in New Jersey, where his laboratory was located) helped found the electric light and power, sound recording, and motion picture industries, and contributed substantially to the telecommunications, battery, and cement industries. He was also close friends with Henry Ford, the pioneer of mass production. Edison established the first industrial laboratories devoted to inventing new technologies and recast invention as part of a larger process of innovation that encompassed manufacturing and marketing. The philosopher Alfred North Whitehead famously credited him with the invention of a method of invention. Edison died in West Orange, New Jersey, on October 18.
The Invention Process and Intellectual Property
After working as a telegraph operator in the mid-1860s, Edison began his inventive career by becoming a contract inventor in the telegraph industry. At a time when general incorporation laws were just beginning to reshape American business, these companies were learning how to deal with technological innovation. Concerns over conflict of interest were also just beginning to emerge, and Edison saw no conflict in working for companies in direct competition with each other.
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