Arthur C. Clarke on Defensive Publishing
With the recent death of Arthur C. Clarke, one of the world's most prolific writers of science fiction, including the short story that inspired the screenplay for 2001: A Space Odyssey co-authored with Stanley Kubrick, we've seen numerous obituaries and memorials to his achievements as an inventor and futurist. We'd like to share this.
If we have learned one thing from the history of invention and discovery, it is that, in the long run - and often in the short one - the most daring prophecies seem laughably conservative. -- Arthur C. Clarke, The Exploration of Space, 1951
Sir Arthur Clarke is credited with being the "godfather of the communications satellite" by many, including himself. "Although he was not the originator of the concept of geostationary satellites, one of his most important contributions may be his idea that they would be ideal telecommunications relays. He advanced this idea in a paper privately circulated among the core technical members of the BIS in 1945. The concept was published in Wireless World in October of that year." The Wireless World paper was written in late June and submitted to the RAF censor on July 7 and its title was changed from “The Future of World Communications” to “Extra-Terrestial Relays,” as noted in this powerpoint presentation. One slide in the presentation discloses this nugget of information that we found apropos our own blog about securing innovation.
Q: Why did Mr. Clarke not patent the communication satellite?A: I have often been asked—usually pityingly--why I made no attempt to patent the communications satellite. Perhaps the most truthful answer is that I never really expected to see it in my lifetime; I also (though in more cynical moments I am skeptical about this) seem to recall thinking that it was an idea for all humanity, so I should publish to prevent anyone else from taking out a patent. As indeed I did...I learned from my patent attorney that even if I had tried to patent communications satellites in 1945, the patent would have been rejected because the required technology did not yet exist, and the patent wouldn’t have been worth getting because its life would only have been 17 years. The patent would have expired the year before Early Bird was launched.
A hundred years ago, the electric telegraph made possible - indeed, inevitable - the United States of America. The communications satellite will make equally inevitable a United Nations of Earth; let us hope that the transition period will not be equally bloody. -- Arthur C. Clarke, First on the Moon, 1970
Arthur C. Clarke: An Appreciation of a Life Well-Lived is an appropriate obituary for the man who, when asked how he'd like to be remembered, is reported to have said, "I have had a diverse career as a writer, underwater explorer and space promoter. Of all these, I would like to be remembered as a writer."
