Edison's Ark was begun in response to actions taken by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to destroy the only two paper collections of US Patents that exist in classified order in the world.

One collection is used by Patent Examiners in deciding "novelty" of a new invention. The second collection is used by the public - hundreds of professional searchers and attorneys - every day, for research. Both collections are located in USPTO's headquarters in Arlington, VA., and have been in constant use for more than 150 years.

Why the destruction? The USPTO has digitized the entire collection for access on computer, at enormous cost. Computer access is good, and improving, but is flawed: digitized records are incomplete and inaccurate, and studying images on a glowing screen is very tedious. Despite heated objections from Examiners, Attorneys, and Searchers, the new management of USPTO, led by former Congressman James Rogan, is getting its way and trashing both collections.

The tragedy has been documented on the front page of the New York Times and more than a dozen other newspapers from London to LA, and has been featured in an editorial by Steve Forbes, and an article in Metropolis magazine.

Included in the trashing are the more than 1 million patents from the Golden Age of inventing - circa 1850 to 1910, when the first inventions in power, light, communications, transportation and chemistry appeared. The images on this site were literally rescued from the trash, and will be added to as time permits.

We need your help in spreading news of this outrage to Inventors, Companies, to members of Congress, and anyone else who values a priceless resource. Visit this site often for updated news, and sends your comments.