News & Publications

The ball point patent anniversary

June 10 is the anniversary of the patent for the ball point pen filed in Argentina in 1943, but invented in 1938 by brothers László and George Biro. Lázló a Hungarian journalist (September 29, 1899 – November 24, 1985) is considered the inventor of the modern ballpoint pen.

Bíró was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1899. In 1938, while working as a journalist, he noticed that the ink used in newspaper printing dried quickly, leaving the paper dry and smudge-free. He tried using the same ink in a fountain pen but found that it would not flow into the nib, as it was too viscous. Working with his brother George, a chemist, he developed a new tip consisting of a ball that was free to turn in a socket, and as it turned would pick up ink from a cartridge and then roll to deposit it on the paper. Bíró patented the invention in Paris in 1938, after fleeing anti-Jewish laws in Hungary.

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Unknowingly

"Several companies use illegal software without knowing. Surely as  a result of mergers of companies, rapid growth of a company, or when one company buys another, they will lose sight of the software used and also the licenses. What also frequently happens is that employees themselves install software on their computers at work without management knowing. Owing to the fact that the board of management remains responsible for the software used illegally in their company, it is important for the board of management to see to proper management of software and licenses."
Published by Computable, March 13, 2008