Editing Autoharp (section)

==History==
[[File:MIM PHX 2011-04-26 0186 edited.jpg|thumb|left|Autoharp (center) by C.F. Zimmermann Co. in 1896–99; (left is a [[marxophone]], right is a [[dolceola]])]]
Charles F. Zimmermann, a German immigrant in [[Philadelphia]], was awarded a [[patent]] in 1882 for a “[[Harp]]” fitted with a mechanism that muted strings selectively during play.<ref>{{Cite patent|country=US|number=257808|pubdate=1882-05-09|title=Harp|inventor1-last=Zimmermann|inventor1-first=Charles F.}}</ref> He called a zither-sized instrument using this mechanism an “autoharp.”<ref name="true">{{Cite web|title=True_History|url=http://daigleharp.com/True_History_Of_The_Autoharp.html|access-date=2020-10-11|website=daigleharp.com}}</ref> Unlike later designs, the instrument shown in the patent was symmetrical, and the damping mechanism engaged with the strings laterally instead of from above. It is not known if Zimmermann ever produced such instruments commercially. Karl August Gütter of [[Markneukirchen]], Germany, built a model that he called a ''Volkszither'', which was more clearly the prototype of the autoharp in its current form. He obtained a British patent for it c. 1883–1884.{{cn|date=May 2022}} In 1885, after returning from a visit to Germany, Zimmermann began production of instruments with the Gütter design. He labeled them autoharps and included his own name and patent number. As a result, Zimmermann is widely but incorrectly regarded as the inventor of the instrument in its now familiar form.

===Trademark===
A stylized representation of the word ''autoharp'' was registered as a trademark in 1926.<ref>U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Electronic Search System, September 7, 2006.</ref> The word itself is currently claimed as a trademark by the [[U.S. Music Corporation]], whose Oscar Schmidt Inc. division manufactures autoharps. The [[United States Patent and Trademark Office|USPTO]] registration, however, covers only a “Mark Drawing Code (5) Words, Letters, and/or Numbers in Stylized Form” and has expired.<ref>U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Electronic Search System, May 25, 2009.</ref> In litigation with George Orthey, it was held that Oscar Schmidt could only claim ownership of the graphic device, the word ''autoharp'' having come into generic use.