Laser: The Inventor, the Nobel Laureate, and the 30-year Patent War

This presentation tells the story of physicist inventor Gordon Gould, his fundamental contributions to the laser, his dismissal by academic physicists including the Nobelist Charles Townes, and his long fight in the federal and patent courts for recognition. It’s a story of ambition, invention, business risk, resentment, and a hapless misreading of the existing patent laws that in the long run made Gould rich. Gould’s story led to a wholesale reshaping of what it takes to get a patent and gave us the patent laws we have today.