Wright brothers patent war facts for kids

Diagram from the 1906 patent showing the Wright brothers' flying machine control system.

The Wright brothers patent war was a long legal battle over the invention of the airplane. Wilbur and Orville Wright were two American brothers from Dayton, Ohio. They are famous for building and flying the world's first successful powered airplane on December 17, 1903.

After their breakthrough flight, the brothers wanted to protect their ideas. In 1906, they received a valuable legal document called a patent. A patent gives an inventor the exclusive right to make, use, or sell an invention for a set period.

The Wright brothers believed their patent covered any system used to steer an aircraft in the air. When other builders began making airplanes, the Wrights took them to court. The resulting legal fight lasted for years, reshaping early aviation history in the United States and around the world.

How the Wright Brothers Solved the Flight Problem

Three Axes of Flight Control

Before the Wright brothers, many inventors tried to build airplanes. Most early attempts failed because the builders could not steer their crafts once airborne.

The Wrights realized that a pilot needed full control in three different directions:

• Pitch: Moving the nose of the plane up or down.
• Yaw: Pointing the nose of the plane left or right.
• Roll: Tilting the wings to bank left or right.

Breakthrough of Wing-Warping

Between 1899 and 1902, the brothers tested unpowered gliders at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. They invented a method called wing warping. By pulling cables, the pilot twisted the tips of the wings. This changed the lift on each side, causing the plane to bank into a turn.

The Wrights discovered that banking caused an unwanted turning effect called adverse yaw. To fix this, they connected the wing-warping system to a movable rear rudder. This combined system allowed smooth, controlled turns.

Granting of US Patent 821,393

In March 1903, before their first powered flight, the brothers applied for a patent. Their first application was written without a lawyer and was rejected.

In early 1904, the Wrights hired a skilled patent attorney named Henry Toulmin. Toulmin wrote a broad application focusing on the principles of flight control rather than just the engine. On May 22, 1906, the United States Patent Office granted them Patent 821,393 for a "Flying Machine."

Wilbur Wright

Orville Wright

Glenn Curtiss

The Big Dispute: Wing-Warping vs. Ailerons

What Did the Patent Cover?

The Wright patent described wing-warping in detail. However, the legal text claimed ownership over any method that changed the airflow on opposite wingtips to roll an airplane.

Other aviators soon developed movable flaps on the edges of wings called ailerons. Ailerons worked better than twisting the whole wing and did not weaken the airplane's structure.

The Wright brothers argued that ailerons were just another way of copying their basic concept of lateral roll control. Because of this, they believed every aircraft builder using ailerons owed them licensing fees.

Glenn Curtiss and the Aerial Experiment Association

Glenn Curtiss was an American inventor and engine builder. He joined the Aerial Experiment Association (AEA), a group organized by telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell.

The AEA built several successful airplanes, including the June Bug. In 1908, Curtiss used the June Bug to win the Scientific American trophy for the first public flight of over one kilometer in the United States.

Curtiss used hinged flaps (ailerons) to balance his airplane. The Wright brothers warned Curtiss that he was infringing on their patent. When Curtiss began selling his airplanes commercially in 1909, the Wright brothers filed a lawsuit against him.

Major Lawsuits and Court Battles

The Wright Company Enforces Its Rights

In 1909, the brothers formed the Wright Company with wealthy investors from New York. Wilbur took charge of running the legal fights to stop rival builders.

The company filed lawsuits against Curtiss and several foreign pilots who flew at American airshows, including French aviator Louis Paulhan. The Wrights insisted that show organizers buy a license before any airplane took off.

Some aviation fans criticized the brothers. Rival builders joked that if a person jumped in the air and waved their arms, the Wrights would sue them.

The Court Decisions in the United States

In 1910, Federal Judge John R. Hazel ruled in favor of the Wright brothers. He agreed that their patent covered any device used to alter the lateral balance of an airplane, including ailerons.

Curtiss appealed the decision, keeping the case alive in court for years. In January 1914, the United States Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the original ruling.

Between 1909 and the start of World War I, the Wrights won every major patent case they brought inside the United States.

European Legal Challenges

The Wright brothers also registered patents in Europe, but the legal outcomes there were different:

• France: French courts recognized the Wrights' rights, but legal appeals dragged out until the patent expired in 1917.
• Germany: German courts overturned the Wright patent. They ruled that Wilbur Wright and engineer Octave Chanute had already explained the principles in public speeches before filing the patent.
• United Kingdom: British inventor Samuel F. Cody defended himself against the Wrights by showing he used wing controls on large kites years earlier.

The Smithsonian Controversy

Langley's Aerodrome Experiment

Before the Wright brothers flew in 1903, Professor Samuel Langley, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, attempted to build a powered airplane called the "Aerodrome." The Aerodrome failed twice, crashing into the Potomac River in late 1903.

The Smithsonian was eager to restore Langley's reputation. In 1914, the head of the Smithsonian, Charles Doolittle Walcott, made an agreement with Glenn Curtiss.

Secret Modifications

Curtiss took the broken 1903 Langley Aerodrome to his workshop in Hammondsport, New York. Curtiss made over 30 major design changes, strengthening the wings, altering the frame, and adding a modern engine.

Curtiss flew the modified craft for short hops over Keuka Lake. He then claimed in court that Langley's machine had been capable of flight before the Wright brothers built the Wright Flyer.

The Smithsonian put the Aerodrome on display with a sign calling it the first airplane capable of flight. Orville Wright was so upset by this dishonest claim that he sent the original 1903 Wright Flyer to a museum in London, England.

It was not until 1928 that the Smithsonian admitted the machine had been heavily modified, and in 1948, the Wright Flyer was finally returned to the United States.

How the Dispute Affected American Aviation

Stalling Aircraft Innovation

The patent lawsuits consumed Wilbur Wright's time and energy. Wilbur spent years traveling, giving depositions, and meeting with lawyers. Sadly, Wilbur fell ill with typhoid fever and died in 1912 at the age of 45. Orville always believed the stress of the patent fights weakened Wilbur's health.

While American builders fought in courtrooms, European inventors made fast progress. European designers built lighter engines, streamlined fuselages, and sturdy metal parts. By 1914, European airplanes were far superior to American designs.

The Crisis of World War I

When World War I started, the United States military needed thousands of modern airplanes. However, American manufacturers were stuck in legal arguments over patent royalties.

In 1916, Orville retired and sold his business, which became the Wright-Martin Corp. Wright-Martin demanded that all planemakers pay high royalties for every aircraft produced. This slowed production when airplanes were needed urgently.

When American pilots went to fight in Europe in 1917, the United States had no battle-ready combat planes of its own. American aviators had to fly French and British aircraft instead.

The Patent Pool Solution

Creating the Manufacturers Aircraft Association

In 1917, the United States government stepped in to resolve the crisis. The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (the agency that later became NASA) recommended a system called a patent pool.

Under government pressure, planemakers formed the Manufacturer's Aircraft Association:

• All aircraft builders joined one single group.
• Members paid a single blanket fee for each plane they manufactured.
• The fees were collected and shared among patent holders, primarily Wright-Martin and Curtiss.

End of the Conflict

This cross-licensing agreement allowed companies to use each other's ideas without fear of lawsuits. Airplane manufacturing quickly surged to meet military needs.

After World War I ended, the patent lawsuits were never restarted. In 1929, the two rival companies put the past behind them completely by merging to create the Curtiss-Wright Corporation, a major aerospace company that still operates today.

Early Inventions and Prior Art

Matthew Boulton and Early Ailerons

Long before the Wright brothers or Glenn Curtiss flew, other inventors explored ways to steer machines in the air. These earlier inventions are called "prior art" in patent law:

• Matthew Piers Watt Boulton: In 1868, this British inventor received a patent for movable flaps on wingtips to control roll. His idea was forgotten for decades until after the Wright lawsuits began.
• John J. Montgomery: An American scientist who built test gliders in California with movable wing surfaces between 1885 and 1905.
• Robert Esnault-Pelterie: A French inventor who built an unpowered glider using wingtip flaps in 1904 to replace wing-warping.
• Henri Farman: A pioneer in France who added single-acting hinged flaps to the trailing edges of his Farman III biplane in 1909, creating the direct ancestor of modern airplane ailerons.

Summary of the Conflict

See Also

• Wright Brothers
• Glenn Curtiss
• Aileron
• Patent
• World War I

Images for kids

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  Matthew Piers Watt Boulton, the British engineer who patented an early aileron design in 1868.

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  The Santos-Dumont 14-bis biplane fitted with octagonal ailerons in late 1906.

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  The Blériot VIII airplane in France in 1908, featuring early wingtip control surfaces.