Constitution and the Fire of Genius “Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our Constitution. Before then, any man might instantly use what another had invented; so that the inventor had no special advantage from his own invention. The patent system changed this; secured to the inventor, for a limited time, the exclusive use of his invention; and thereby added the fuel of interest to the fire of genius, in the discovery and production of new and useful things.” —ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Second Lecture on Discoveries and Inventions, February 11, 1859 PATENTS The only U.S. president to hold a patent is Abraham Lincoln. In 1848, in between sessions of Congress, Lincoln was on his way home to Illinois when his boat became stuck on a sandbar. As his law partner, William Herndon, would later recount in his biography of Lincoln: The captain ordered the hands to collect all the loose planks, empty barrels and boxes and force them under the sides of the boat.
