the life of Philo T Farnsworth - Early Television Foundation

154 THE STORY OF TELEVISION
occasion to Phil, Lippincott took it to the laboratory and with
due ceremony presented
it to the young inventor. This patent,
No. 1,773,980, issued August 26, 1930 (more than three and
a half years after application was filed), broadly covered Phil's
system of television transmission and reception.
This first issued patent was followed in due course by others
covering different phases of the development. Simultaneously
applications were being filed for patent protection on all major
inventions in all the important countries throughout the world.
A stream of foreign patents began flowing in.
As work progressed at the laboratory
it became apparent that
there were certain key inventions covering important phases
of television for which there was no alternative method or device.
Then there were patent applications embracing the best,
though not the only, way for accomplishing important functions
in the system. There were many of these.
Because Phil was pioneering an entirely new field the road
was clear for most of his inventions. An unusually high percentage
of applications resulted in issued patents with most of
the original claims allowed. In a majority of the scores of cases
no formidable interferences developed.
However, in two cases of major importance, one covering the
"blacker than black" synchronizing pulse, and the other covering
the "saw-tooth wave" scanning, a long and difficult struggle
ensued. These involved protracted ordeals of testimony-taking
and cross-examination on technical matters for Phil, but they
were so important to his patent structure that it was necessary
to use every means possible to establish his claims. The opposition
was equally persistent. The proceedings dragged over
many years before the struggle ended and these vitally important
cases were conceded to Farnsworth.