Uh... free for the taking is not exactly right. They patented the shit out of it. Look up the "Wright brothers patent war" they waged world wide for licensing f

Uh... free for the taking is not exactly right. They patented the shit out of it. Look up the "Wright brothers patent war" they waged world wide for licensing fees. It took WW1, with the USA extremely far behind in aircraft innovation, for the gov to end their patent trolling adventure.