Edison’s company claimed that Woods had infringed Edison patents with some of his electrical inventions; Woods successfully defended his own priority and eventually sold some of his patents to Edison rather than continue the legal fight.

This kind of legal battle is costly in time and money even when the inventor wins, and many Black inventors lacked the resources to sustain the fight.

Mary Kenner held five patents, which means she navigated the patent system successfully five times.

This is itself an achievement, given the barriers.

What she could not do was consistently translate those patents into manufacturing agreements and commercial products, and that failure — if failure is the right word for a systemic outcome — reflects the broader barriers rather than any deficiency in her inventions.

The Context of Women Inventors