Early life

William Woodworth was born around 1780, probably in Massachusetts. He later moved to Hudson, New York

Hudson, New York

Hudson is a city located along the west border of Columbia County, New York, United States. The city is named after the adjacent Hudson River and ultimately after the explorer Henry Hudson.Hudson is the county seat of Columbia County...

 where he was a carpenter and carriage maker. He worked on the Livingston family estate as a superintendent of their mill. He was the father of William W. Woodworth

William W. Woodworth

William W. Woodworth was a U.S. Representative from New York, Captain in the American Civil War, and member of the Woodworth political family.-Life:...

.

Woodworth Planing Machine

After spending years working around wood, Woodworth would design and then patent the Woodworth Planing Machine in 1828. Hailed as the greatest improvement to the planing machine so far and one of the most important inventions of the century, it added speed and efficiency to the process of creating lumber for domestic usage. The invention could perform the output of 25 laborers, cheapened finished lumber, and greatly increased the supply. In 1829, the Franklin Institute

Franklin Institute

The Franklin Institute is a museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the oldest centers of science education and development in the United States, dating to 1824. The Institute also houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial.-History:On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughn Merrick and...

 praised the invention. The United States Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

 would praise the invention in 1850 along with Eli Whitney

Eli Whitney

Eli Whitney was an American inventor best known for inventing the cotton gin. This was one of the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution and shaped the economy of the Antebellum South...

's Cotton Gin as the great labor savings inventions of the country.

Patent law impact

The Woodworth planing machine had a direct impact on patent law in the United States. Because Woodworth and his heirs repeatedly attempted, and succeeded many times in having the patent extended by Congress, it was attacked politically as a monopoly. Woodworth's heirs were subjected to one of the earlier special interest, community organizing campaigns in the country, as lumber merchants and carpenters, growing tired of paying a royalty to Woodworth's heirs, mounted a public campaign to have the extension of the patent blocked.

The Patent Law of 1836

History of United States patent law

"To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;" From the United States Constitution, Article I, Section 8, Clause 8....

 allowed for inventors to receive a seven-year extension after the expiration of the 14-year term permitted at that time. In 1842, Woodworth's son William W.

William W. Woodworth

William W. Woodworth was a U.S. Representative from New York, Captain in the American Civil War, and member of the Woodworth political family.-Life:...

 received an extension, and successfully lobbied Congress in 1845 for another extension, thus extending the patent until 1856.

William W. then petitioned Congress in 1850 for another full-term extension, which would have allowed a claim until 1870. This resulted in a public firestorm, leading to mass protests and accusations of monopolization and fraud. The city leadership of Philadelphia organized a mass meeting rallying support against Woodworth's heirs. Literature from Philadelphia against the patent extension showed up in Harrisburg, in which the State Assembly demanded their federal representatives block Woodworth's attempt. It was noted that much of the anti-Woodworth literature was printed, rather than written, indicating an orchestrated community organizing effort to block Congressional legislation extending the patent. Many letters were associated with the special interest groups against Woodworth's heirs, such as the "Select and Common Councils, Board of Trade, Wardens of the Port, Aldermen, and Recorder", as well as from 14 commissioners of the Northern Liberties district and 15 commissioners from the Spring Garden district in Philadelphia. Another group called the "Builders and Lumbers Group" was documented as lobbying against the extension. The letters against the Woodworth heirs also flooded into the Congressional patent committees from all over the country during the 1850, 1852, and 1854 sessions.

The Woodworth heirs had their own set of supporters ranging from lawyers, editors, doctors, and treasurers, with their letters handwritten, indicating a genuine concern about the protection of inventors' rights and reward for their heirs of their labor and genius. They also had their supporters in Congress, who reintroduced the legislation that would have granted the extension during every session after the request was made. The Woodworth heirs' stake in the extension was enormous, along with other patent assignees, as the patent generated $15 million annually in royalties, including $2.1 million over 24 years for one assignee named James G. Wilson.

Ultimately in 1856 the patent expired following Congress's failure to grant the extension. The Woodworth episode, coupled with other patent issues, resulted in patent law amendments passed in 1861 that extended the term of claims from 14 years to 17, without the possibility of further extensions.