Wright brothers patent war

The Wright brothers patent war was a series of lawsuits over the patent that Orville and Wilbur Wright received in 1906 for their method of controlling an aircraft in flight. The patent covered lateral roll control by wing warping, used together with a rear rudder and a front elevator, and the courts held that ailerons were also covered. In 1909 the brothers sold the patent to the newly formed Wright Company, which sued foreign and domestic aviators, above all Glenn Curtiss, to collect licensing fees. The Wrights won every one of the nine suits they brought in United States courts. Many historians believe the litigation slowed American aviation, although others dispute this, and during World War I the government pressed the industry to pool its patents.