Today in Legal History: Patents, Safer Wars, Amber Alert

On this day in 1790, the patent system was established when President George Washington signed the U.S. Patent Act.

On this day in 1972, biological warfare was banned in a treaty signed by the United States and the Soviet Union, among other countries.

On this day in 2003, Congress passed the so-called “Amber Alert” bill. Named after a 9-year-old girl who was abducted in Arlington, Texas, and later found murdered, it provided a system for alerting the public and getting its help locating missing children.