The Barbed Wire Patent
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The Barbed Wire Patent Case, 143 U.S. 275 was a significant patent dispute in 1892 between plaintiff Joseph Glidden and the USPTO regarding the right of barbed wire. Lucian Smith was the original inventor in 1867 and held patent rights for it, while Glidden made changes to the production of barbed wire, holding the barbs in place, in 1874 that he believed were novel enough to merit a new invention and thus new patent.[1]