C4IP is recognizing patents, copyrights, and trademarks registered during the month of September for historic inventions that changed their industries and the way we live today.
1948: On September 7, Louis Parker received a patent for the television receiver, which allowed sound and picture to be coordinated and continues to be an integral part of all modern televisions. In 2021, an estimated 1.7 billion households around the globe owned a television, including an estimated 121 million in the United States. Nearly 80 percent of Americans watch television each day, and the television content industry is projected to generate more than $44 billion in revenue this year.
1888: On September 4, George Eastman received a patent for the first roll film camera, which became the basis for his revolutionary camera company Eastman Kodak. At its peak in 1976, Kodak was responsible for an estimated 85 percent of the U.S. market for cameras. In 2022, the global market for professional standalone cameras was estimated at over $8 billion.
1843: On September 9, Nancy Johnson received a patent for her invention, an “artificial freezer,” which became widely used as the first machine for making ice cream. In 2021, the value of the global market for ice cream was estimated at $71.5 billion and is projected to reach nearly $105 billion by 2029.