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

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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.

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