US Patent 713,795 — Filamentous Cracker (Shredded Wheat)

TL;DR — Perky’s 1902 patent for the shredded wheat biscuit — the document behind a landmark trademark case.

⬇ Download the archived copy — kept here so the document survives its source going dark. US federal government work (17 USC §105).

No. 713,795, H. D. Perky, patented 18 November 1902 (application filed 29 September 1900, renewed 16 April 1902). Henry D. Perky of Worcester.

The patent for the filamentous cracker — shredded wheat.

Its legal afterlife is why it matters. When the patent expired, the resulting fight became Kellogg Co. v. National Biscuit Co. (1938), in which the Supreme Court held that on expiry the name and the pillow shape passed into the public domain. It is a foundational American case on the boundary between patent and trademark, and this is the document at the bottom of it.

Where this came from

• Brendan Sheehan’s public are.na channel

3 pages. A copy is archived locally against link rot; the header links the original source.