Picture a world of futuristic tales with spaceships zipping around and gadgets doing mind-blowing things. Now, think about how those cool ideas actually turn into real things we use. Well, researchers from the University of Akron found some interesting stuff about the link between sci-fi stories and patents.

They dug into documents at Syracuse University, uncovering unique thoughts from Hugo Gernsback, a big name in sci-fi. Back in 1926, he not only started the world’s first all-sci-fi magazine but also edited it. But here’s the twist—Gernsback wasn’t just a magazine guy; he was also an engineer with over 30 patents to his name.

The right lines

In his magazine ramblings, Gernsback suggested that a good sci-fi story is like a patent. You know, those official records you give to the government, showing off your fresh, practical, and innovative creation. He believed sci-fi stories spill the beans on future tech that might not work now but could someday. According to him, these stories push readers to figure out how to make those cool inventions, and lots of them end up getting patents for things they learned about in sci-fi.

Here’s the catch, though—most sci-fi authors can’t snag patents for their own wild ideas because the gadgets they dream up usually can’t be made at the time they describe them. Gernsback thought this was unfair and tried to change it. In a speech in 1952, he told the World Science Fiction Convention that Congress should tweak the U.S. patent law to make it simpler for sci-fi authors to get patents for the stuff they dream up in their stories.

Even though Gernsback’s idea didn’t become law, it’s still worth thinking about. A bunch of things we use today, like ChatGPT and the Metaverse, got their start from the crazy ideas in sci-fi stories.

“This does not mean all science fiction authors should be able to get patents,” the authors explain. “That would be a bad policy. But we should recognize these authors’ influence on the present.”