Charles Newbold was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 blacksmith

Blacksmith

A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...

 born in 1780 in Chesterfield, New Jersey. On June 26, 1797, Newbold received the first patent

Patent

A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....

 for a cast iron plow. However, he was unable to sell his plow because many farmer

Farmer

A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...

s feared that the iron

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...

 in it would poison the soil. On April 1, 1807, David Peacock was issued a patent for a three-piece iron plow (Newbold's plow was cast in one piece). Newbold then sued Peacock for patent infringement

Patent infringement

Patent infringement is the commission of a prohibited act with respect to a patented invention without permission from the patent holder. Permission may typically be granted in the form of a license. The definition of patent infringement may vary by jurisdiction, but it typically includes using or...

and won $1500.