f theproposed compulso-ry - license - systemlaw would do. Over 300 yearsago, the first Amer-ican patent, for anew way of makingsalt, was issued toSamuel Adams bythe Colony of Massa-chusetts. Later, when the 13 colonies were welded into a nation,the inventors rights were not forgotten. In1787, when… … Abraham Lincoln received a patent ona bellows device to float a boat safelyin shallow waters. Although it neverearned him a cent, it was his firm be-lief that, under our patent system, thehope of realizing a fortune added thefuel of interest to the fire of genius Authors and Inventors the exclusive…