Analysis of Hedy Lamarr's Contribution to Spread-Spectrum Communication

Primary-source documents archived by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and the U.S. Patent Office refute the widely accepted legend that actress Hedy Lamarr and musician George Antheil invented frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) communication. Particular attention is called to the prosecution history of the seventh claim of their original patent application, which claim could well serve as the definition of FHSS. Claim 7 was properly denied by the patent office based on prior art. The six allowed claims of US patent 2,292,387 describe Lamarr and Antheil’s actual invention – a player-piano-like synchronization mechanism, not FHSS itself