Women in Innovation for World IP Day: Marie Van Brittan Brown

Marie Van Brittan Brown was born in Jamaica, Queens, in 1922. She grew up, became a nurse, and met an electronics technician named Albert - who later became her husband. As many nurses do, Marie worked irregular hours – sometimes days, sometimes nights – and found herself home alone quite often. In a neighborhood where crime was on the rise, Marie would often feel vulnerable when she was home alone. So, her and her husband joined forces to solve this problem, and the home security system was born!

They created a motorized camera and audio system to be attached to front doors, connected to a TV monitor inside people’s homes. This allowed homeowners to check who was ringing their doorbells, converse with them and allow access to familiar faces by the touch of a button. It also allowed them to send out an alarm signal if they had any concerns about the person at their doors, alerting security firms, neighborhood watchmen or a nearby neighbor. The idea was a success, and Marie and her husband applied to patent their invention in 1966. The patent was approved in 1969, and has since been referenced in 13 subsequent inventions which have used the Browns’ system in some shape or form. Although the invention was created with the modest intention of providing Marie Van Brittan Brown with some peace of mind, it planted the foundation of today’s ‘do it yourself home security’ sector, which is estimated to grow to a 1.5 billion business over the next 2 years.