Matías Saavedra – Patent Engineer
Martín Vicuña – Associate
In the history of music, artistic creativity has continuously engaged in dialogue with innovation and technology. From the invention of the phonograph to modern digital platforms and artificial intelligence used to create and reproduce music, every technical advance has unlocked new sonic and aesthetic possibilities. Behind these milestones, often unnoticed and backstage, lies the driving force of industrial property and its intricate dynamics. Patents, in particular, have shaped not only the manufacture of instruments and devices, but also the musical genres that emerge from them and accompany us every day.
It all begins with Antoine-Joseph “Adolphe” Sax, a Belgian instrument maker who registered his saxophone in 1846 (Paris, France, Patent No. 3226), an instrument that not only gave birth to jazz, but also demonstrated how a property right can protect an innovation while inspiring an entire musical genre for generations.
In 1937, U.S. Patent US2089171A was granted to the Electro String Instrument Corporation, founded by George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacker, with Beauchamp listed as sole inventor. This patent protected the first commercial model of a solid-body electric guitar, the Fry Pan. It ignited the rock and roll revolution by introducing a horseshoe-shaped electromagnetic pickup designed to directly capture vibrations from the metal strings and convert them into amplifiable electric signals. It also featured a solid aluminum cast body, eliminating the traditional dependency on acoustic resonance.
Inspired by the Fry Pan’s patent, Leo Fender, an American engineer and inventor, founded the Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company and refined the solid-body electric guitar concept for conventional use. In 1950, he introduced the Esquire, followed by the Broadcaster (later renamed the Telecaster), and in 1954, the legendary Stratocaster, an icon of rock and pop, wielded by artists such as Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. While Fender didn’t invent the electric guitar, he perfected and popularized it. And although he didn’t patent his models, he leveraged existing protected ideas and brought them into a new sonic and commercial dimension, defining the sound of modern rock.
Later, U.S. Patent US2896491, granted in 1959 to Gibson Guitar Corporation, introduced the world to the Humbucker pickup, designed by electronic engineer Seth Lover. This innovation eliminated the bothersome hum caused by interference with other electrical devices. Lover solved the issue using two coils wired in series with opposite magnetic polarities, revolutionizing electric rock and blues by enabling high-volume amplifier use without noise. Musicians like B.B. King and Slash adopted Humbucker-equipped guitars, shaping iconic tones. Gibson incorporated the pickup into immortal models like the Les Paul (1958), which remains an industry standard, especially in rock and metal genres.
Then came Robert Moog, who delivered the synthesizer, patented in 1969 under US3476866, opening the gates to electronic music, from Kraftwerk’s experimentalism to today’s vibrant EDM festivals.
But the influence of industrial property in music hasn’t been limited to instruments and sound. Stage performance, as a natural extension of the musical experience, has also been fertile ground for patented innovation. Michael Jackson exemplified this fusion of musical creation with physical and visual expression. In 1993, he and collaborators Michael Bush and Dennis Tompkins registered U.S. Patent US5255452A for a special shoe system that, anchored to a concealed peg in the stage, allowed the performer to lean forward at a seemingly impossible angle, without losing balance, a move immortalized as the “anti-gravity illusion” in the choreography of Smooth Criminal.
Some musical genres were born directly from instrumental innovation. Jazz, sparked by Sax’s saxophone, found its soul in the improvisations of Louis Armstrong (West End Blues, 1928) and John Coltrane (Giant Steps, 1960). Rock, fueled by the electric guitar, roared through Jimi Hendrix’s hands, whose solo in All Along the Watchtower (1968) turned distortion pedals into sonic poetry. Electronic music owes its existence to the synthesizer and rhythm boxes like the Roland TR-808 (designed by Ikutaro Kakehashi), which gave DJ Kool Herc (Block Party Breaks, 1973) and Grandmaster Flash (The Message, 1982) the tools to invent hip hop in 1970s Bronx.
Other genres emerged from the reinvention of past innovations. The turntable, originally meant to play music, became an instrument in the hands of DJs, who created breaks and scratches. With no legal restrictions limiting its creative use, the turntable became the heartbeat of hip hop, showing how intellectual property can act as a springboard for imagination.
Many protected inventions eventually become gifts to humanity once their exclusive rights expire. The theremin, patented by Léon Theremin in 1928 (US1661058), entered the public domain decades later, inspiring electronic builders to create accessible versions. Its sci-fi sound was famously used by Led Zeppelin (Whole Lotta Love, 1969) and The Beach Boys (Good Vibrations, 1966). Similarly, once the Moog synthesizer patent (US3476866) expired, it was cloned and adapted by producers like Daft Punk (Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger, 2001) and Radiohead, with Jonny Greenwood pushing the ondes Martenot into new emotional territory in How to Disappear Completely (Kid A, 2000).
Intellectual property systems aim to encourage innovation through a delicate balance between ownership and freedom, ensuring both. Without intellectual property, we might not have the saxophone that cries in a jazz club, the electric guitar that screams in a stadium, or the synthesizer that pulses through a rave. Today, emerging technologies like artificial intelligence open new creative horizons, while simultaneously raising complex challenges for protection frameworks, especially in music and the performing arts.
So next time you hear a song that brings you to tears or lifts your spirit, remember: behind every note is an inventor, an artist, and a property right that helped make it possible. Let’s celebrate that legacy, and keep playing the symphony of humanity.