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Ben Franklin’s Greatest Invention
Special to FreeRepublic ^ | 9 Nov., 2005 | John Armor (Congressman Billybob)

Posted on 12/08/2005 11:07:42 PM PST by Congressman Billybob

Even today, sources on inventions list six by Franklin that are still in active use today. One of those sits in my back hall, cheerfully and economically heating the back of my home – the Franklin stove. Another sits on the bridge of my nose as I write this – a pair of bifocals. But this is about Franklin’s greatest invention, one that the lists never mention because it is mere words, not a physical object.

Franklin made seven trips to Europe, as a diplomat and scholar. He was welcomed into all the learned societies that existed in Europe then. One of the things he learned on those trips was that creative people were being cheated out of the financial benefits of their creations. When the novels of Charles Dickens became popular, printers other than his own simply reset the type and republished the books, without a cent in royalties to the author. When Thomas Paine’s design for a cast iron bridge became known (and remained the standard until the advent of the use of steel in the 20th century), others copied the design without a cent in royalties being paid.

Thomas Jefferson was undoubtedly the nation’s greatest political philosopher, in a group where the competition for that accolade was very high. But Franklin was the nation’s greatest practical philosopher. He recognized that the building of a nation required the creation of a form of fastest possible communication among its parts. So he created the first Post Office, and also served as the first Postmaster. Were Franklin to return, he would recognize in a trice how the Internet works and why it is important. On his second day back, he would have a blog entitled “Poor Richard’s Almanack.”

But even the Post Office, which led inexorably to the Internet, was not Franklin’s greatest invention. He thought about the problem of creative people being encouraged to develop new creations. He understood the importance of good, old-fashioned financial incentives. He suggested to James Madison the following 27-word clause to be added to the powers of Congress in Article I, Section 8. With little debate and no objection, since it came from the respected scientist, it was added to the Constitution:

“To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;....”

What is the importance of that clause? The US is only a small fraction of the world’s population. There are other, highly developed nations, with their own great universities. Still, more than three-fourths of all the world’s patents, copyrights, and trademarks are issued annually to Americans.

Is it because Americans are a special breed of human beings, better able to understand complexities and see the shape of the future? Comparisons of American students with their counterparts at all ages in other developed nations should quickly dispel that notion.

No, it is Franklin’s invention of this clause that has caused the explosion of American creativity, which began with the founding of the nation, and has shown no signs of slowing down in the two and a quarter centuries since. By giving a temporary monopoly to inventors like Thomas Edison and Bill Gates, it unleashed their abilities to redirect economic history. It unleashed the abilities of writers and creators like Mark Twain and Steven Spielberg to redirect literary and cinematic history.

(And one of the great diplomatic challenges of our times is to get certain nations to stop stealing the results of that creativity, by stealing the developments and reproducing them – exactly the way everyone was stealing all inventors’ works, when Franklin toured the learned societies of Europe, three centuries ago.)

Where did Franklin get the idea for this powerful clause, the one that is the engine behind the economic miracle of the United States of America? Every other clause in the Constitution has its progenitors in the works of Baron Montesquieu, John Locke, and other political and historical writers known to the Framers of the Constitution. This clause, and this one alone, has no ancestor.

Franklin saw the problem as it existed in the rest of the world. Franklin recognized that providing an economic incentive would encourage inventors and creators. And he also recognized that it must be temporary, “for limited times,” since he was aware of permanent monopolies such as the salt monopoly in the Ottoman empire, which were benefits for preferred supporters of the ruler.

In short, Franklin’s invention of this clause led to the current status of the American economy as the most powerful economic engine in history. And that is no small achievement.

About the Author: John Armor is a First Amendment attorney and author who lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. John_Armor@aya.yale.edu


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Editorial; Extended News; Free Republic; Government; News/Current Events; US: North Carolina
KEYWORDS: baronmontesquieu; benfranklin; benfrankllin; benjaminfranklin; bifocals; billgates; charlesdickens; copyrights; founders; franklinstove; invention; jamesmadison; johnlocke; marktwain; ottomanempire; patents; postoffice; stevenspielberg; thomasedison; thomasjefferson; thomaspaine; trademarks
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To: Congressman Billybob

Thanks for the post.


81 posted on 12/09/2005 10:54:30 AM PST by aculeus
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To: Congressman Billybob

You’re welcome. I take little I find on the internet (or on the news shows, or in the newspapers) at face value.


82 posted on 12/09/2005 11:06:26 AM PST by R. Scott (Humanity i love you because when you're hard up you pawn your Intelligence to buy a drink.)
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To: BenLurkin; Congressman Billybob; bitt

Great USPTO story but that graphic doesn't fit the story....I don't think there is a patent on the Democratic Party....


83 posted on 12/09/2005 12:53:20 PM PST by The Spirit Of Allegiance (SAVE THE BRAINFOREST! Boycott the RED Dead Tree Media & NUKE the DNC Class Action Temper Tantrum!)
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To: Cougar66
"Very intersting!! If Ben were alive today, one can only imagine what his stock would be going for. The man was amazing."

I wrote a small piece for a local blog about Democracy in it I addressed the issue of old Ben coming back to present day America. The Following is an excerpt:

__________________________________________________________

Dr. Franklin was a genius, for that there is no doubt. He was a great force in the founding of our country and is responsible for many of the things we take for granted today. He had another saying that I doubt many in America would know or recognize. “When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.”Yes Franklin had it down. Today, more and more money is sent to Washington D.C. in the name of social programs and the cry of the left is we need even more money to get the job done.

I sometimes wish I could go back in time and bring Dr. Franklin into the present so he could address the federal government in a Joint Session of Congress. Oh man, now that would be entertainment!

I can see it all now. All of the major networks and cable news anchors, the New York Times and all the rest of the birdcage liners all gathered together to cover this momentous occasion. A hush would come over the gathered heads of state and the members of our government as the lights dim. A single spotlight would illuminate Dr. Franklin as he put on his famous bifocals and acknowledge the gathered dignitaries:

”Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, the esteemed members of the Supreme Court, distinguished members of the House and the Senate, and the citizens of this great nation I bid you all greetings.”

“I’ve journeyed here today across the expanse time some 216 years ago at the very conclusion of the writing of the Constitution to this present day to put forth a very important question to you all…”

“What in God’s good name do you think you people are doing?!?!?!?!”

84 posted on 12/09/2005 1:10:25 PM PST by Mad Dawgg ("`Eddies,' said Ford, `in the space-time continuum.' `Ah,' nodded Arthur, `is he? Is he?'")
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To: RoadTest
"But what did Bill Gates invent? I thought he took Steve Jobs' "user-friendly" concept of computer operating systems and ran with it."

Oh you mean that "User-friendly" concept Jobs pirated from Xerox?

85 posted on 12/09/2005 1:11:49 PM PST by Mad Dawgg ("`Eddies,' said Ford, `in the space-time continuum.' `Ah,' nodded Arthur, `is he? Is he?'")
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To: Glenn
" Do you think an uneducated mother in a third world country with a dying child has a political ideology?"

No, but I am suggesting that the people who believe they have a right to infringe the drug manufacturers patent so that they can manufacture the drugs and give them away might have a socialistic agenda. Coercing or blackmailing the manufacturer into donating or discounting the drugs is basically no different. It is not the manufacturer with the patent who should bear the burden for the cost of medication for the people who cannot afford it for themselves.

There is plenty of room for charity, but socialized health care or socialized medicines whether by government decree or public coercion is a step toward the dark ages, not the provision of health care to anybody.

86 posted on 12/09/2005 1:32:15 PM PST by HopefulPatriot
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To: Congressman Billybob

Thank you for posting this.


87 posted on 12/09/2005 1:36:11 PM PST by Ohioan
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To: HopefulPatriot
but socialized health care or socialized medicines whether by government decree or public coercion is a step toward the dark ages

Didn't it work exactly that way for Polio and smallpox? I thought that was a rather enlightened approach to stem human suffering in the history of the world.

88 posted on 12/09/2005 1:42:34 PM PST by Glenn (What I've dared, I've willed; and what I've willed, I'll do!)
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To: AuH2ORepublican
and without which artists would be unable to make a living as artists (would Pink Floyd have written, recorded and produced Dark Side of the Moon if they would have only sold a handful of copies that would then be down-loadable for free by everyone?).

I understand the point you intended to make, but Pink Floyd isn't the best example.

To this day, (if they were so inclined), they could perform live and sell out stadiums at $100+ / ticket.

Albums can make you popular, but touring makes you rich.

89 posted on 12/09/2005 1:58:16 PM PST by Freebird Forever (If they're truly public servants, why do they live in the mansions?)
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To: Congressman Billybob
Google the author. Anyone of any note will have his obituary up on the Net, somewhere.

And after you discover hundreds of John Smiths who died between 1980 and 2030 and many more who are still alive, what then?

90 posted on 12/09/2005 3:14:55 PM PST by supercat (Sony delinda est.)
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To: Beelzebubba
The real problem is not determining if something is in the public domain, but finding the rights owner when it is not.

If something can't be proven to be in the public domain, it may as well not be. Unless something is done, the various copyright reforms will mean that a great volume of material will for all practical purposes never enter the public domain even if copies survive long enough to do so.

To be sure, being unable to track down copyright holders is also a problem, but back in the days when notice was required, and when registration was required for renewal, anyone who couldn't track down a copyright holder could wait 28 years from the printed copyright date; if the work wasn't registered by then, it was in the public domain (and thus available for use). By contrast, the problems with today's system mean that a work whose author/owner can't be found will be unusable forever (since without knowing who the author is, there will be no way of knowing when the work lapses into the public domain). If there are no further rule changes, a work published in 1980 could enter the public domain as early as 2051, or could still be under copyright in 2150.

91 posted on 12/09/2005 3:21:29 PM PST by supercat (Sony delinda est.)
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To: Glenn
I was a child when Dr. Salk solved the problem of a vaccine for polio. I remember getting the shots as a teenager. Later, I served on the Board of the Leukemia Society of America. They sponsored basic research in that disease the same way the March of Dimes did for polio.

The money was raised by private, voluntary donations. Then, a knowledgeable Board, guided by the advice of doctors experienced in the field, that money was spent on the most promising research proposals of the hundreds that were presented for consideration. (Most leukemia patients are now "cured" as opposed to most dying quickly of their disease, when I first went on that Board.)

This was NOT "socialized medicine." It was intelligent, capable private charity, for which America is renowned.

John / Billybob
92 posted on 12/09/2005 3:24:17 PM PST by Congressman Billybob (Do you think Fitzpatrick resembled Captain Queeg, coming apart on the witness stand?)
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To: supercat
Anyone who knows how to use Google, also know how to narrow their searches. LOL.

John / Billybob
93 posted on 12/09/2005 3:25:33 PM PST by Congressman Billybob (Do you think Fitzpatrick resembled Captain Queeg, coming apart on the witness stand?)
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To: Glenn
I will leave it to you to review the the history of the polio and small pox vaccines. I do not know the details or the specifics, but the answer is unequivocally "NO" if you think forcing drug companies to wave their patents or be coerced into providing the medicines at discount is a model for future health care. The Swine flu fiasco was only the first of what could be many such events.

Government is the least efficient, the least effective, and the worst possible way to do anything. Capitalism works; socialism fails every time it is tried and it will always fail every time it is tried because the incentives are backwards.

I have seen military medicine, VA medicine, and British Medicine up close. Do you think it was an accident that Fedex and UPS are not part of the post office?

94 posted on 12/09/2005 3:30:11 PM PST by HopefulPatriot
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To: Congressman Billybob
This was NOT "socialized medicine."

Is that true of the world effort? Did the donations of America eradicate smallpox and Polio? Were the cures patented? Should cures be patentable?

I'd be interested in a Franklin answer to today's problems, is the point.

95 posted on 12/09/2005 3:32:38 PM PST by Glenn (What I've dared, I've willed; and what I've willed, I'll do!)
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To: Congressman Billybob
I hope y'all will find it interesting.

I sure do. Whenver I think about Franklin and the other founders, I am once again reminded of who the TRUE greatest generation is in American history. Although it helped Brokaw sell a lot of books, I rue the day he or his publishers ever came up with that title for the WWII generation.

Without the founding generation, there would have been no American WWII generation to save Europe in the 1940's.

96 posted on 12/09/2005 3:35:43 PM PST by Wolfstar ("In war, there are usually only two exit strategies: victory or defeat." Mark Steyn)
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To: Freebird Forever

Yeah, touring can make you rich, but Pink Floyd went through the time and expense of their groundbreaking production and having it sound perfect on the album because the album was an end in itself, not a means to an end. If Pink Floyd knew it would have only sold a handful of albums and would need to make its living from touring, it would have made an album with less production and more of a "live" sound.


97 posted on 12/09/2005 3:40:42 PM PST by AuH2ORepublican (http://auh2orepublican.blogspot.com/)
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To: Glenn
My understanding is that Dr. Salk did not attempt to patent the vaccine that he developed for polio. I know that the researchers who worked on leukemia research did not attempt to patent the cures that they developed for that dread disease.

Like I said, these were examples of tremendously successful American charity. Why, exactly, do you insist on pushing these examples, wrongfully, into the the category of socialized medicine? Do you have an agenda? I don't.

John / Billybob
98 posted on 12/09/2005 4:03:37 PM PST by Congressman Billybob (Do you think Fitzpatrick resembled Captain Queeg, coming apart on the witness stand?)
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To: Congressman Billybob
Why, exactly, do you insist on pushing these examples, wrongfully, into the the category of socialized medicine? Do you have an agenda?

Yes. I have an agenda. I have trouble letting a million people die because of patents.

At some future point, there may be an Iranian cure for some virus that is killing millions of Americans. Suppose their price was 1/2 trillion dollars and all of Montana for licensing rights. Would we pay it? Would we respect their patent?

Some replies to me have indicated that we can be selective about who to save based on their politics and policies. I disagree, is all. I think humanity has some common enemies that transcend both the law and money.

99 posted on 12/09/2005 4:13:07 PM PST by Glenn (What I've dared, I've willed; and what I've willed, I'll do!)
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To: supercat

And after you discover hundreds of John Smiths who died between 1980 and 2030 and many more who are still alive, what then?



Look for the one who wrote the book you want to copy.


100 posted on 12/09/2005 4:23:47 PM PST by Atlas Sneezed (Your FRiendly FReeper Patent Attorney)
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