Editing Samuel Colt (section)

=== Patent extension ===
[[File:Colt Navy 51 Squarebeck.JPG|thumb|Colt 1851 Navy Revolver]]

During this period, Colt received an extension on his patent, since he had not collected fees for it in its early years. In 1849, gun makers James Warner and Massachusetts Arms infringed on the patent. Colt sued the companies, and the court ordered that Warner and Massachusetts Arms cease revolver production. In 1852, Colt threatened to sue another company, Allen & Thurber, over the cylinder design of their double-action [[pepperbox]] revolver. However, Colt's lawyers doubted that this suit would be successful, and the case was resolved with a settlement of $15,000. Production of Allen pepperboxes continued until the expiration of Colt's patent in 1857.<ref>{{harvnb|Houze|Cooper|Kornhauser|2006|p=144}}</ref> In 1854 Colt fought for his patent extension with the U.S. Congress, which initiated a special committee to investigate charges that Colt had bribed government officials in securing this extension. By August he was exonerated, and the story became national news when ''[[Scientific American]]'' magazine reported that the fault was not with Colt, but with Washington politicians.<ref name=hosley72 /> With a virtual monopoly, Colt sold his pistols in Europe, where demand was high due to tense international relations. By telling each nation that the others were buying Colt's pistols, Colt was able to get large orders from many countries who feared falling behind in the [[arms race]].<ref>{{harvnb|Houze|Cooper|Kornhauser|2006|p=153}}</ref>

A major reason for Colt's success was vigorous protection of his patent rights. Even though he held the only lawful patent for his type of revolver, scores of imitators copied his work and Colt found himself constantly in litigation.<ref name=houze125>{{harvnb|Houze|Cooper|Kornhauser|2006|p=125}}</ref> In each case, Colt's lawyer, Edward N. Dickerson, deftly exploited the patent system and successfully shut down the competitor.<ref name=houze125 /><ref>{{harvnb|Gibby|2011|pp=115–122}}</ref> However, Colt's zealous protection of his patents greatly impeded firearms development as a whole in the United States. His preoccupation with patent infringement suits slowed his own company's transition to the [[Cartridge (firearms)|cartridge]] system and prevented other firms from pursuing revolver designs. At the same time, Colt's policies forced some competing inventors to greater innovation by denying them key features of his mechanism; as a result, they created their own.<ref name=Adler146>{{harvnb|Adler|2008|p=146}}</ref>

Colt knew he had to make his revolvers affordable, as the doom of many great inventions was a high retail price. Colt fixed his prices at a level below his competition to maximize sales volume. From his experience in haggling with government officials, he knew what numbers he would have to generate to make enough profit to invest money in improving his machinery, thereby limiting imitators' ability to produce a comparable weapon at a lower price.

Although successful at this, for the most part, his preoccupation with marketing strategies and patent protection caused him to miss a great opportunity in firearms development when he dismissed an idea from one of his gunsmiths, [[Rollin White]]. White had the idea of a "bored-through" revolver cylinder to allow cartridges (made of paper at the time) to be loaded from the rear of the cylinder. Only one gun fitting White's design was ever made, and it was not considered practical for the ammunition of the time. A year after White left Colt, Colt's competitor, [[Smith & Wesson]], attempted to patent a revolver using metallic cartridges only to find that it infringed on White's patent for the bored-through cylinder. They then licensed that component of White's patent and kept Colt from being able to build cartridge firearms for almost 20 years.<ref>{{harvnb|Hosley|1999|p=70}}</ref>