Patents Have No Value After Twenty Years. Right? Maybe. Maybe Not! What?

Medical Patents Broker Inc.
By Kenneth Pearce, President

In modern times, it has been drilled into our heads that a patent is dead twenty years from the filing date. Not that long ago, it was seventeen years from the grant date.

We are the United States—a land of entrepreneurs. PBS even has a long-running television show about rare finds that are valuable. There are auctions, collectors, and digital vendors of antique U.S. patents. As far as value goes, the "maybe" is that a rare patent can hold immense intrinsic value.

An original, government-issued paper document with hand-tied silk ribbons and a heavy embossed Department of the Interior seal is the gold standard. Of course, the better the physical condition and the older the document, the better.

Like many precious jewels, these original “Letters Patent” remain hidden until they are revealed. You can’t just order an original online. Granted early U.S. patents are analogous to rare artworks or aged wine from a distinct time and vineyard.

Where the Treasures Hide

If you are hunting for a valuable, original piece of American ingenuity, they generally surface in three places:

• Inheritance or Estate Auctions: Originals are often found in the mattress, the family Bible, an old pie safe with drawers, or boxes in the garage or basement. Passed down for generations, the descendants often thought “so what?” until suddenly, they didn't.
• Historical Ephemera Dealers: There is a highly specialized market for vintage paper artifacts. Antique manuscript brokers spend their lives scouting estate sales to rescue these original 19th-century parchment documents.
• Presidential Patents: Here is a fascinating factoid—prior to the late 1800s, the President of the United States co-signed patent certificates. Presidents Washington through Jackson actually signed the granted patents themselves. Occasionally, a high-end auction company will treat these documents like rare artwork. The date, time, and participating buyers determine the ultimate value of a patent bearing a former President’s signature.

The Potentially Priceless Patent

The first pharmaceutical U.S. patent was issued for Samuel Lee Jr.’s "Composition of bilious pills, medical pills and syrups." The grant date was April 30, 1796, and it included the signature of President George Washington, as required by the Patent Act at that time.

Due to the catastrophic 1836 Patent Office fire, the official U.S. patent number is now 111X. The government copy was destroyed. However, if somebody out there holds the original patent document, that single piece of paper would have a market value greater than many of today’s modern medical inventions.

🎽 The President’s Viewpoint

The United States markets herself as a land of opportunity. This appears to be true. A two-hundred-thirty-year-old original U.S. patent can be an asset that generates an immense windfall for a lucky few.

This turns the maybe into a real deal.