policy levers in patent law virginia law review vol

Robert Kearns

Perhaps most notably and egregiously in terms of lasting misconceptions and inaccurate history books to this day  Nikola Tesla died just months before the US Supreme Court upheld his basic radio patent issued in 1900: effectively recognizing Tesla as the true inventor of radio, the decision overturned the US Patent Office's sudden reversal in 1904 granting Guglielmo Marconi the patent despite repeated rejections over several years, which in turn led directly to the questionable award of the Nobel Prize in Physics to Marconi in 1909.
Patents
United States Patent 3,351,836, Robert W. Kearns, Filing date: Dec 1, 1964, Issue date: Nov 1967, Windshield Wiper System with Intermittent Operation
United States Patent 3,602,790, Robert W. Kearns, Filing date: October 18, 1967, Issue date: August 31, 1971. . Intermittent Windshield Wiper System.
United States Patent 4,544,870, Robert W. Kearns, Timothy B. Kearns, Filing date: Sep 7, 1982, Issue date: Oct 1, 1985, Intermittent windshield wiper control system with improved motor speed
Lawsuits and legal references
Kearns v. Ford Motor Co., 203, U.S.P.Q. 884, 888 (E.D.Mich. 1978)
Kearns v. Chrysler Corp., 32 F.3d 1541 (Fed. Cir. 1994)
Kearns v. General Motors Corp., 152 F.3d 945 (Fed. Cir. 1998) (unpublished decision).
(More lawsuits of Dr. Kearns)
Notes
^ In Memoriam to Robert W. Kearns, OSS Society Newsletter, Spring 2005, p.13: "Robert W. Kearns, 77, died in Baltimore on Feb. 9, 2005. He invented the adjustable windshield wiper for automobiles. During World War II he served with OSS."
^ Schudel, Max, "Accomplished, Frustrated Inventor Dies", Washington Post, Saturday, February 26, 2005, Page B01: "Earlier in life, Kearns had been a high school cross-country star, an outstanding violinist and a teenage intelligence officer in World War II. But from 1976, his sole focus in life was to battle the auto giants and reclaim his invention."
^ Robert W. Kearns entry at NameBase
^ a b "Robert Kearns, Inventor of Intermittent Windshield Wipers and Battled Car Companies, Dies at 77" AP News, February 25, 2005
^ Wohleber, Curt, The Windshield Wiper : Nonstop ones made drivers crazy. Inventing a solution did the same to Robert Kearns", American Heritage Invention and Technology, Summer 2007, Volume 23, Issue 1
^ Johnson, Reed, Robert Kearns' flawed 'Genius' , AP / Los Angeles Times, October 3, 2008. Quoting the article about the cork and eye blinking inspiration: "When I asked him about that charming anecdote 15 years ago, Kearns quickly dismissed it as baloney".
^ a b Associated Press, Robert Kearns, 77, Inventor of Intermittent Wipers, Dies, New York Times obituary, February 26, 2005
^ Kearns v. Chrysler Corp., 32 F.3d 1541 (Fed. Cir. 1994).
^ 514 U.S. 1032.
^ Ronspies, Jeff A., "Does David Need a New Sling? Small Entities Face a Costly Barrier to Patent Protection", 4 J. MARSHALL REV. INTELL. PROP. L. 184 (2004), The John Marshall Law School, Chicago. Cf. p.196.
^ Bob Kearns' Biography page
^ Burk, Dan L., and Lemley, Mark A., "Policy Levers in Patent Law", Virginia Law Review, Vol. 89, No. 7 (Nov., 2003), pp. 1575-1696. Cf. p.1590-1591 and note 42.
^ Merges, Robert P., "A Transactional View of Property Rights", Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, University of California, Berkeley, Year 2005 Paper 8. Cf. p.17 and note 37.
References
Seabrook, John, "The Flash of Genius: Bob Kearns and his patented windshield wiper have been winning millions of dollars in settlements from the auto industry, and forcing the issue of who owns an idea", The New Yorker, January 11, 1993
Seabrook, John, Flash of Genius And Other True Stories of Invention, St. Martin's Griffin, September 2008. ISBN 0-312-53572-4
Further reading
Andrews, Edmund L., "Patents : Are Disputes Too Complex For Juries?", The New York Times, May 12, 1990. About Dr. Kearns' case.
Schudel, Matt, "Accomplished, Frustrated Inventor Dies", Washington Post, Saturday, February 26, 2005; Page B01. Dr. Kearns' Obituary.
External links
Robert Kearns movie called Flash of Genius (2008)
Robert Kearns at Find a Grave
An Obsession With Justice and Auto Parts
Persondata
NAME
Kearns, Robert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
Kearns, Robert William
SHORT DESCRIPTION
Inventor
DATE OF BIRTH
March 10, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH
Gary, Indiana
DATE OF DEATH
February 9, 2005
PLACE OF DEATH
Baltimore, Maryland
Categories: American inventors | Cancer deaths in Maryland | Case Western Reserve University alumni | Deaths from Alzheimer's disease | Deaths from brain cancer | Discovery and invention controversies | People from Detroit, Michigan | People from Gary, Indiana | University of Detroit Mercy alumni | Wayne State University alumni | 1927 births | 2005 deathsHidden categories: Articles with hCards | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from September 2009