Historical note: A famous U.S. Supreme Court patent-law case is known as The Barbed Wire Patent, 143 U. S. 275 (1892).[1] Quotable quote: "The difference betwe

Historical note: A famous U.S. Supreme Court patent-law case is known as The Barbed Wire Patent, 143 U. S. 275 (1892).[1] Quotable quote: "The difference between the [prior] Kelly fence and the [patented] Glidden fence is not a radical one, but, slight as it may seem to be, it was apparently this which made the barbed wire fence a practical and commercial success. ... Under such circumstances, courts have not been reluctant to sustain a patent to the man who has taken the final step which has turned a failure into a success." 143 U. S. at 282-83. [1] http://supreme.justia.com/us/143/275/case.html http://supreme.justia.com/us/143/275/case.html