Inventions and Their Management is ascience book byAlf K. Berle andL. Sprague de Camp.[1] It was based onA Course on Inventing and Patenting by Howard Wilcox and Alf K. Berle, a series of nine papers presented byNew York University in cooperation with Inventors Foundation, Inc., issued from 1933-1934.[1][2][3] The Berle/de Camp version was published by theInternational Textbook Company in July 1937. It was reprinted, revised, in September 1940. A second edition was issued by the same publisher in April 1947 and was reprinted, revised, in January 1948, with a third printing in June 1948[1][4] and a fourth in June 1950. A third edition was issued by the same publisher in November 1951 and was reprinted, revised, in 1954. An additional printing was issued by Laurel Publishing in 1957. The work was revised and reissued under the new titleInventions, Patents, and Their Management byVan Nostrand in 1959. It was reprinted by Litton Educational publishers in 1968. The work has been translated intoJapanese.[1]
The book contains a comprehensive study ofinvention as it relates topatents andpatent law,trademarks, andcopyright in the United States, with extensive exploration and citation of relevant court cases. It "aims to present a coordinated treatment of the problems confronting inventors and business men in developing ideas into industrial property of value."[5] The stated intention is "to guide inventors in every aspect of their work, and to help them over the difficulties other inventors have met. It also teaches the language of invention, which is used by those attorneys, engineers, and executives who work extensively in this field, and, by giving a grasp of the legal, technical, and commercial terms having to do with invention, enables an inventor to understand these people and to make himself understood by them."[6] "The cases that are narrated are taken from the actual experience of inventors, and of business men and attorneys who have dealt with inventions. They are selected to help clear up important points, and also to bring out the fact that every invention development or case differs from all others, and requires intelligent individual handling.[7]
The stated object of the second edition "is to present in a single volume the principles and practices governing the technical, legal, and business procedures of invention, and thus to guide the many men and women who undertake to raise our standards of living by creative thought."[8] According to the preface, "[t]he principal changes have been a discussion of theLanham Act and the important influence it will have on U. S. trade-mark law when it goes into effect in 1947, and a new chapter on trends in industrial research and invention."[9]
Inventions and Their Management was L. Sprague de Camp's first book; he went on to become a prominentscience fiction andfantasy writer, as well as authoring a large number of additional non-fiction works.
^abcdLaughlin, Charlotte; Daniel J. H. Levack (1983).De Camp: An L. Sprague de Camp Bibliography. San Francisco: Underwood/Miller. p. 69.
^Library of Congress Copyright Office.Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 1. Books, Group 2. New ser. v. 31, 1934. Washington, DC. United States Government Printing Office, 1935. p. 152.
^Wilcox, Howard; Alf. K. Berle (1933).Paper Number One of A Course on Inventing and Patenting. [New York]: Inventors Foundation, Inc. p. [title page].
^Berle, Alf K.; L. Sprague de Camp (1948).Inventions and Their Management, Second edition, third printing. Scranton, PA: International Textbook Company. p. [iv]-[v].
^Berle, Alf K.; L. Sprague de Camp (1948).Inventions and Their Management, Second edition, third printing. Scranton, PA: International Textbook Company. p. x.
^Berle, Alf K.; L. Sprague de Camp (1948).Inventions and Their Management, Second edition, third printing. Scranton, PA: International Textbook Company. p. ix.
^Berle, Alf K.; L. Sprague de Camp (1948).Inventions and Their Management, Second edition, third printing. Scranton, PA: International Textbook Company. p. ix-x.
^Berle, Alf K.; L. Sprague de Camp (1948).Inventions and Their Management, Second edition, third printing. Scranton, PA: International Textbook Company. p. vii.
^Berle, Alf K.; L. Sprague de Camp (1948).Inventions and Their Management, Second edition, third printing. Scranton, PA: International Textbook Company. p. vii-viii.
^Berle, Alf K.; L. Sprague de Camp (1948).Inventions and Their Management, Second edition, third printing. Scranton, PA: International Textbook Company. p. xiii-xvi.
