Aeronautics Patentees and their Strategies, 1880-1918

Peter Meyer, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

We examine patterns of inventors entering a new field based on data from a curated collection of patent and publication records related to aeronautics around the world from 1800-1918. For about 2000 of these patentees, we have some biographical information and can see their technological focus. Somewhat over half were engineers, and the proportion rose over time. The term "aeronautical engineer" first appears in about 1909. Relatively few inventors switched from working on balloons, helicopters, or ornithopters (with flapping wings) to working on fixed-wing aircraft. We compare some fixed-wing aircraft patentees who had patented previously to some who had not, to get a sense of the technological background of the inventors in the new field. We can make some inferences about the inventors' interests and strategies. When airplane manufacturers appeared starting in 1908, relatively few of the inventors started companies. They patented in multiple countries however, which was a kind of business strategy. As best we can tell, only a few sold their patent rights, and not many went to work in the new industry. The new airplane manufacturing companies did not all have patent portfolios; we compare their business strategies based on some examples.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 47. Technology and Entrepreneurship