The Sewing Machine Combination or the Sewing Machine Trust was the first

patent pool In patent law, a patent pool is a consortium of at least two companies agreeing to cross-license patents relating to a particular technology. The creation of a patent pool can save patentees and licensees time and money, and, in case of blocking ...

in US history. It was formed by the "Albany Agreement" of 24 October 1856 and lasted until its last

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

expired in 1877. It existed for the purpose of reducing the licensing and litigation overhead being imposed by the

patent thicket A patent thicket is "an overlapping set of patent rights" which requires innovators to reach licensing deals for multiple patents. This concept is associated with negative connotations and has been described as "a dense web of overlapping intellect ...

known as the Sewing Machine War. Prior to the Sewing Machine Combination, companies could purchase rights from

Elias Howe Elias Howe Jr. (; July 9, 1819October 3, 1867) was an American inventor best known for his creation of the modern lockstitch sewing machine. Early life Elias Howe Jr. was born on July 9, 1819, to Dr. Elias Howe Sr. and Polly (Bemis) Howe in ...

for a royalty fee of $25 for every machine sold. In 1856, president of the Grover & Baker company,

Orlando B. Potter Orlando Brunson Potter (March 10, 1823 – January 2, 1894) was a businessman and member of the United States House of Representatives from New York City. From 1883 to 1885, he served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is primar ...

, worked with Howe, Wheeler & Wilson, and

Isaac Singer Isaac Merritt Singer (October 27, 1811 – July 23, 1875) was an American inventor, actor, and businessman. He made important improvements in the design of the sewing machine and was the founder of what became one of the first American multi-n ...

's I. M. Singer and Company to pool their patents and agree to terms of use. The requirements were: at least 24 manufacturers were to be licensed; the founding companies would equally share the profits; and Howe would receive a $5 royalty for each machine sold in the U.S. and $1 for exported machines. Interests only were pooled, prices were not set, and the market was open to fair competition, which allowed companies to concentrate on manufacturing and marketing the machines, rather than litigation. Of the nine patents pooled, three were particularly crucial: the

lockstitch A lockstitch is the most common mechanical stitch made by a sewing machine. The term "single needle stitching", often found on dress shirt labels, refers to lockstitch. Structure The lockstitch uses two threads, an upper and a lower. Locksti ...

, the four-motion feed, and the combination of a vertical needle with horizontal sewing surface. In addition to its four member companies, dozens of other companies licensed its patents, for which they paid royalties and submitted annual production reports. Twenty years after the Combination expired, only two of the companies remained in business.

References

{{Sewing Sewing machines Patent pools