From the light bulb and telephone to brain transplants and DNA editing technologies, these innovative patents changed the world!
Patented: January 27, 1880
Thomas Edison’s light bulb patent was a turning point that made electric lighting a reality for households, businesses and nations.
Patented: March 7, 1876
Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone patent forms the basis of modern communications. It was inspired by his mother, who was deaf and his father, who taught elocution to the deaf.
Patented: May 22, 1906
The Wright brothers were the first to patent a functional aeroplane. The principles outlined in their “flying machine” patent are used in aviation systems even today.
Patented: January 29, 1974
The original patent for the Global Positioning System was granted to Roger Easton as the sole inventor. However, Ivan Getting and Bradford Parkinson are also credited with the invention.
Patented: January 23, 1996
Australia-based CSIRO patented and invented the wireless local area network (WLAN) in the 1990s. It changed how we think of and use technology in our day-to-day life.
Patented: 2006
There are many patents associated with the original iPhone, including several design patents simply titled “electronic device”. The first iPhone was launched on June 29, 2007.
Patented: December 30, 1987
It was described as an “implantable, integrated apparatus” that contacts the brain. Modern brain implants even allow people to move robotic prosthetics with their thoughts.
Patented: April 15, 2014
CRISPR is a gene editing tool invented by Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna in 2012. They won the Nobel prize for it in 2020.
Patented: April 25, 1961
Jack Kilby’s patent titled “miniaturized electronic circuits” transformed the electronics industry by allowing it to fit numerous transistors in a compact space.
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