- Rockin’ Patent: US Patent No. 3,246,082
- Filed: 26 March 1962
- In the name of: Alfred Levy
- Title: Telephone Hold Program System
- What’s claimed: “A telephone hold program system for use with a telephone circuit having an incoming line, a holding circuit normally operatively disconnected from the incoming line and a hold instrumentality which upon actuation operatively connects the holding circuit to the incoming line and disconnects a telephone receiver from the incoming line: said system comprising a program line normally operatively disconnected from the incoming line and means operatively connecting said program line to said incoming line upon actuation of said instrumentality whereby When the holding circuit is operatively connected to the incoming line and the receiver is disconnected therefrom said incoming line but not the receiver will be supplied with program material.”
- Why this patent rocks: This patent appears to relate to one of the first ideas for hold music, filed by a factory owner named Alfred Levy. According to Slate, accounts suggest he discovered that “…by dint of a loose wire touching a steel girder, his company’s telephone system was picking up broadcasts from the neighboring radio station. When callers were placed on hold, they longer heard silence, but … music. The world of “music on hold” was born.” For more information, see here.
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The information above is for general interest and information only and does not constitute legal advice.