In 1974 Art Fry, another 3M product development researcher, applied the possibilities of this oddball adhesive that wouldn't stay stuck to the problem he was having with his hymn book. Or so this invention was thought at the time. It was interesting, it was different, and it was useless. But because they made only intermittent contact, they did not stick very strongly when coated on tape backings. The spheres would not dissolve, could notīe melted, and were very sticky individually. It formed itself into tiny spheres with a diameter of a paper fiber. Spence Silver, a research scientist for 3M, came up with an unusual adhesive. But that turned out to be a less-useful adhesive, not the entire sticky note, and Amron said he felt 3M used the Swiss tale to trick him into the settlement - and is now breaching that deal by claiming credit for the product.Claim: Post-it Notes were invented from a glue no one could find a use for. "The first thing I would want to know is whether or not there was an agreement between them regarding who was allowed to say what."Īmron said the agreement was that neither could claim credit because, years earlier, a Swiss inventor had supposedly devised a similar product. "I would predict what he has left perhaps is the enforcement of a settlement agreement but not the claims he is pursuing," said Miami attorney Jeffrey Feldman, who is not involved in the case. The case was settled, and Amron agreed to release the company from any future claims, which intellectual property lawyers say could make his new Florida lawsuit difficult to win. It was also in 1997 that Amron sued 3M claiming he was the true inventor. Post-it Notes have become so iconic that in the 1997 movie "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion," the title characters, played by Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino, claim credit for inventing them to impress their former classmates. It's now one of the top-selling items in 3M's consumer products division, which in 2015 earned $4.4 billion for all products, company figures show. That year he took the sticky notes to a New York trade show and met briefly with two 3M executives, Amron said, but nothing came of the meeting.įry and Silver came up with what 3M originally called the Press 'n' Peel memo pad in 1974, but it wasn't brought to the market until 1977 and didn't really take off until 1980, when it was renamed the Post-it Note. He was looking for a way to stick a note on his refrigerator for his wife and used gum, providing inspiration for the adhesive he would use on his Press-on Memo. Take the microchip: Texas Instruments ( TXN) and Fairchild Semiconductor battled for a decade in court over who came first and deserved the patent, deciding amid the wrangling it was best to work out a licensing deal for both companies.Īmron said his idea in 1973 came about with chewing gum. The history of invention is full of people competing for credit for the same idea, and often things come about because smart people are working separately. Fry did not respond to an email and a phone message seeking comment. "There was nothing in the settlement agreement that limited what 3M could say," she said.įry, now 84 and retired, is named as a defendant in Amron's lawsuit, but Silver is not. On Friday, Runyon added that 3M was within its rights under the previous settlement to claim credit for creating the Post-it Note. Amron and it is false and misleading for him to state or suggest that he created, invented, or had any role in the product's development," said company spokeswoman Donna L. "3M developed Post-it Notes without any input or inspiration from Mr. Silver came up with the adhesive - one that could be used over and over yet not mar surfaces to which it was attached - and Fry the idea of using it for the small, yellow squares of paper to become sticky-back notes. The company says Post-it Notes were invented by 3M scientists Arthur Fry and Spencer Silver, both members of the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
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