Hymen Lipman
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Hymen L. Lipman is credited with registering the first patent for a pencil with an attached eraser on March 30, 1858 (U.S. Patent 19,783).
In 1862 Lipman sold his patent to Joseph Reckendorfer for $100,000, who went to sue the pencil manufacturer Faber for infringement[1]. In 1875 the Supreme Court of the United States ruled against Reckendorfer declaring the patent invalid because his invention was actually a combination of two already known things with no new use[2].
[edit] References
- ^ Petroski, Henry (1990). The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-394-57422-2; ISBN 0-679-73415-5, page 171
- ^ http://supreme.justia.com/us/92/347/case.html Reckendorfer v. Faber 92 U.S. 347 (1875)

