[cctalk] Re: Floppy disk

[Paul Koning via cctalk]

> On Jun 10, 2026, at 10:58 PM, Fred Cisin via cctalk <cctalk@classiccmp.org> 
> wrote:
> 
> On Wed, 10 Jun 2026, Murray McCullough via cctalk wrote:
>> I see by historical records that IBM patented the 8" floppy disk in 1972.
>> It produced and released the disk in 1971. Was there a reason for this?
>> Happy computing.
> 
> Perhaps it simply means that IBM can manufacture faster than PTO can process?
> Did IBM "patent" in 1972, or was it merely the patent was graanted in 1972?

I searched for it.  The patent number is 3668658 and a quick look at the 
document shows it was filed on 12/22/1969, so well before the product first 
shipped.  It was granted 6/6/1972, that's about 2.5 years later -- which is 
pretty quick by USPTO standards.

        paul