Re: Packard Motor Car Co. - Patents

Posted by 32model901 On 2014/1/26 15:49:40

Owen,

Thank you for additional information, and the list. It sums up who were the innovators at the Company. Not surprising Mr. Vincent tops the list.

I do get interested in this sort of thing, I think because they go into the details of the invention. IMO, if you don't understand how it works, how can you fix it if it's broken.

I also get involved with some of this at my 8 - 5, so maybe that's another reason.

Your tabulated list was really interesting. I recognized a few names such as MacFarlan and VanRanst, I remember seeing those names associated with other car manufacturers.

Your comment about the Patent Attorney being listed as an inventor does not surprise me. In the past I've worked with Patent Attorneys who suggested improvements or changes to original art, during a review of the patent application.

In this way they contributed to the invention and were listed, although not usually as the primary inventor. Some of the best Patent Attorneys I've worked with have been Mechanical / Electrical Engineers, before getting their Law Degree.

There have also been cases where I filed an Invention Disclosure at a company and a Patent was filed by the Patent Attorney using his name along with "et al". Et al is Latin for "and others". In this situation someone that had nothing to really do with the patent was listed as an inventor.

I agree with your point of innovation. IMO, in manufacturing if you're not innovating you're not growing, and one key metric of innovation are patents, if the organization chooses to disclose their intellectual property.

Best Regards,

Dave