Emile Berliner granted U.S. patent for the Gramophone

Background. Emile Berliner invented the lateral-cut flat disc record, known as the gramophone record. Unlike Edison's phonograph, which etched sound onto cylinders, Berliner's Gramophone used a flat disc. Berliner moved to Boston in 1877 and became a United States citizen four years later, positioning himself to secure intellectual property rights for his invention in the United States.

Patent Grant. Berliner received U.S. Patent 372,786 for the Gramophone on November 8, 1887. This patent covered horizontal recording. A second patent, 382,790, for the process of producing records via chemical etching, was issued in May 1888. These grants occurred before the North American Phonograph Company began producing cylinder recordings for public use.