Technology and Culture

Since the late nineteenth century, corporate R&D labs have become an increasingly important source of innovation in the United States. Yet independent inventors still accounted for the majority of all patented inventions until the 1930s, and despite representing a declining share, they delivered notable inventions throughout the twentieth century. In his book American Independent Inventors in an Era of Corporate R&D, Eric S. Hintz delves into the fascinating world of independent inventors in the United States and explores their contributions amid the dominance of corporate R&D. Through comprehensive research, Hintz sheds light on the challenges, successes, and impact of these inventors in shaping innovation and driving technological change.

The fact that independent inventors accounted for a large share of patented inventions until the mid-twentieth century is well documented by economic historians. Building on this research, Hintz uses various cases to illustrate different commercialization strategies. He distinguishes between four types of inventors: first, inventor-entrepreneurs who founded their own companies to exploit patented inventions commercially; second, inventors who sold their patents to existing firms, which then could either use these patents to scale up production or to hold down potential competitors; third, inventors who joined long-run cooperations with existing firms based on license or consulting agreements; fourth, inventors who used mixed strategies. There was vigorous cooperation between independent inventors and large firms, some of which had their own R&D labs. Thus, independent inventors and corporate R&D were somehow complementary inputs for the generation of innovation.

Hintz shows that independent inventors could profit from cooperation with large firms by leveraging resources and expertise to bring inventions [End Page 403] to the market, but there were also conflicts. There was no level playing field when large corporations infringed patents of independent inventors, given that the latter did not possess similar financial means to endure lengthy court cases. Hintz highlights how patents were used to circumvent antitrust laws and build up barriers to market entry, for example by the creation of patent pools as in the market for light bulbs.

Throughout the book, Hintz explores the challenges faced by independent inventors in navigating complex legal and economic landscapes. Independent inventors often found themselves marginalized and facing numerous obstacles. In contrast to other professions, inventors were not successful in establishing durable and powerful lobby organizations. Consequently, attempts to lobby in favor of patent law reforms, strengthening the interest of independent inventors, ultimately failed.

By presenting a wide range of profiles of inventors and their stories, the author captures the breadth and depth of the independent inventor landscape, also including the role of female and African American inventors. The latter groups were vastly underrepresented in the patent statistics, reflecting the effects of explicit and implicit discrimination, for example by restricted access to education and capital. Hintz shows that there were attempts to create organizations and networks that should have helped female and African American inventors overcome such barriers, but these initiatives were of limited success.

When measured by the share of patents, the importance of independent inventors declined in the twentieth century. World War II fostered this development, since corporate R&D labs profited from large-scale military research contracts, even though individual inventors still delivered important military inventions, as Hintz shows. During the era of the Cold War, the large corporations could maintain their dominance, but the late 1970s and 1980s marked a turning point. Japanese firms overtook their U.S. competitors in various markets, raising doubts about the superiority of corporate R&D. Hintz argues that independent inventors have again become more important since this period. Examples are the well-known inventor-entrepreneurs who founded large tech companies such as Apple or Microsoft. Unfortunately, Hintz discusses the post-1945 period only cursorily. Since the large tech companies built up their own R&D labs, it would be interesting to know more about their cooperation with independent inventors. Concerning the link between competition and innovation, it would also...