In my opinion one of the great contributions of Von Neumann was the fact his "First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC" report was spread so quickly in academic cir

In my opinion one of the great contributions of Von Neumann was the fact his "First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC" report was spread so quickly in academic circles. When Eckert and Mauchly attempted to apply to patent their ideas for the ENIAC, the courts decided that the report constituted prior publication, and their patent application failed, meaning the key ideas and concepts from the ENIAC, many which define modern computers, were now in public domain and could be used freely