PATENT ACT OF 1790

Patent Act of 1790.Hist. The first U.S. patent statute, establishing a board to examine patent applications, specifications, and drawings to determine whether the inventions are “sufficiently useful and important” to justify the granting of patents. • The examining board, comprising the Secretary of State, the Secretary of War, and the Attorney General, was abolished three years later in favor of a simple registration system.

[Blacks Law 8th]