Report of patent committee of National Research Council

In response to a request of the Commissioner of Patents in 1917 and with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, a Patent Committee was appointed by the National Research Council to investigate the Patent Office and patent systems with a view to increasing their effectiveness and usefulness to the industrial life of the country. The Committee appointed by the National Research Council consisted of Dr. William F. Durand, Chairman, Drs. Leo H. Baekeland, M. I. Pupin, R. A. Millikan, S. W. Stratton, Reid Hunt, and Messrs. Frederick P. Fish, Thomas Ewing and Edward J. Prindle. In the absence of Dr. Durand in Europe Dr. Baekeland was appointed Acting Chairman.