The order of the dates

The story begins with an adhesive

3M had a glue with no product.
I had the product.

In 1968, a 3M chemist named Spencer Silver made a glue that wouldn't hold. It stuck lightly and peeled off clean, leaving nothing behind. It was a failure — he'd been trying to make a strong adhesive for aircraft. 3M shelved it. For five years Silver walked it around the 3M company looking for something to put it on. Nobody could think of anything. In 1973 he tried a sticky bulletin board. That failed too.

In 1973, in Brooklyn, New York, I invented the Press-On Memo Sticky Note. A note you stick to anything, pull off, and stick again. I made my own adhesive for it, because I had the product first and needed a glue to serve it. I was 24 years old.

In 1974 I put it into commerce. That same year, at a New York inventors trade show, I handed my samples and my adhesive formula, in confidence, to a 3M executive so they could consider licensing it from me.

In 1977, 3M test-marketed Press 'n Peel. In 1980 it became Post-it. My name was not on it.

3M had a glue with no product for five years. I had the product in 1973 and showed it to them in 1974. Look at the order of the dates and decide for yourself what happened in between.

Alan AmronInventor, Press-On Memo Sticky Notes, 1973

Slideshow transcript

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  1. Alan Amron’s statement: In 1968, a 3M chemist named Spencer Silver made a glue that wouldn't hold. It stuck lightly and peeled off clean, leaving nothing behind. It was a failure — he'd been trying to make a strong adhesive for aircraft. 3M shelved it. For five years Silver walked it around the 3M company looking for something to put it on. Nobody could think of anything. In 1973 he tried a sticky bulletin board. That failed too. In 1973, in Brooklyn, New York, I invented the Press-On Memo Sticky Note. A note you stick to anything, pull off, and stick again. I made my own adhesive for it, because I had the product first and needed a glue to serve it. I was 24 years old. In 1974 I put it into commerce. That same year, at a New York inventors trade show, I handed my samples and my adhesive formula, in confidence, to a 3M executive so they could consider licensing it from me. In 1977, 3M test-marketed Press 'n Peel. In 1980 it became Post-it. My name was not on it. 3M had a glue with no product for five years. I had the product in 1973 and showed it to them in 1974. Look at the order of the dates and decide for yourself what happened in between.
  2. 1968: Spencer Silver invents an adhesive. 1973: a Chicago chemist quotes Amron a fee to develop a composition “suitable for your invention.” 1974: Alan Amron writes to patent counsel, “I have invented a revolutionary new stationery item.” 3M’s own history of Silver’s adhesive: “For years, Silver struggled to find a use for his invention.” Sources: Young letter, Nov. 29, 1973; Amron letter, July 22, 1974; 3M, History Timeline: Post-it Notes.
  3. 3M’s own words about Silver’s adhesive: “For years, Silver struggled to find a use for his invention.” The 1968 invention was an adhesive still looking for a use. Source: 3M, History Timeline: Post-it Notes.
  4. Alan Amron: 1968, Silver's glue, no product. 1973, Amron's sticky note. 1980, Post-it, 3M dates it to the glue.
  5. Original concept artwork for the Press-On Memo, 1973. Exhibit F, captioned Original ART 1973. Filed in federal court in Amron v. 3M Company, No. 16-80125 (S.D. Fla.).
  6. Letter from Dr. David W. Young, chemical consultant, Chicago, to Alan Amron, November 29, 1973: With reference to your memo of November 14, the cost of a program for developing a composition suitable for your invention would be $750.00, for research and product formulations. Exhibit D.
  7. Envelope from Dr. David W. Young to Alan Amron, postmarked Chicago, November 29, 1973. Exhibit D1.
  8. Alan Amron, letter to Mr. Marks, New York City patent counsel, July 22, 1974: I have invented A Revolutionary New Stationery Item That I Am About to Introduce to the Stationery wholesale & Retail industry as well as the Glue printing industries. please File The Nesseary patent For protection on This Item. Samples are enclosed.
  9. Alan Amron’s handwritten letter to Mr. Marks, New York City patent counsel, July 22, 1974, on his RASCO company letterhead, with samples enclosed. Highlighted: I have invented a revolutionary new stationery item that I am about to introduce to the stationery wholesale & retail industry as well as the glue printing industries. Please file the nesseary patent for protection on this item. Samples are enclosed. The letter continues: I set up a corporation called Press On Memo Ltd and opened a post office box for my mass mailing to industry & stores.
  10. Alan Amron, letter to Mr. Marks, New York City patent counsel, July 22, 1974: I setup A corporation Calling press on memo LTD AND opened A post office Box For my mass mailing to industry & stores.
  11. U.S. Post Office receipt for Box 302, Rockville Centre, New York, July 22, 1974. Exhibit E6.
  12. New York Certificate of Incorporation of Press On Memo Ltd., filed with the New York Department of State, July 24, 1974. Exhibit E1.
  13. Press-On Memo sales sheet, The Magic Touch, used in the 1974 mass mailing: Press-On Memo Ltd., P.O. Box 302, Rockville Centre, New York 11570. Just jot down your memo, tear off, place anywhere, touch the magic M and presto it stays. Exhibit F4.
  14. Press-On Memo mass mailing envelope used in 1974: The Magic Touch, Press-On Memo Ltd., P.O. Box 302, Rockville Centre, New York 11570. Exhibit F3.
  15. 3M’s letter to Alan Amron, April 6, 1998, from Carolyn V. Peters, Intellectual Property Counsel, 3M: the original two-page letter, with three highlighted passages.
  16. Carolyn V. Peters, Intellectual Property Counsel, 3M, letter to Alan Amron, April 6, 1998, page 1: In the settlement agreement, 3M acknowledged that it has no right to prevent you, Alan Amron from manufacturing and selling the PRESS-ON-MEMO pads as originally conceived and introduced and put into public use in 1974.
  17. Carolyn V. Peters, Intellectual Property Counsel, 3M, letter to Alan Amron, April 6, 1998, page 1 excerpt: …we do not see why the confidential relationship that we have established to end the lawsuit filed by you should be disturbed…
  18. 3M’s lawyer, in writing, on keeping the settlement confidential. Carolyn V. Peters, Intellectual Property Counsel, 3M, letter to Alan Amron, April 6, 1998, page 2: We see no reason to change that commitment from either side.
  19. Alan Amron, Inventor of the Sticky Notes, 1973, statement, September 2026: Silver’s adhesive is not the product.
  20. Curt Lockhart, intellectual property attorney: This reminds me of the Robert Kearns story of sharing his car wind shield wipers invention with Ford.
  21. Curt Lockhart, intellectual property attorney: Sometimes infringement is a calculated corporate decision.
  22. Michael Earls, enterprise leader: Certainly not the history most of us have heard.
  23. Kurtis Charlton, Managing Director, Intromark: Inventions I've received over the last 20 years, displayed proudly on that little yellow square.
  24. Alan Amron: AI changed everything. The sticky note remains indispensable.
  25. Alan Amron: AI changed everything. The sticky note remains indispensable. AI has now become I (Intelligence).
  26. Rhonda Grubbs, founder and managing partner: I certainly didn't expect the inventor himself to show up in my comments.
  27. Rhonda Grubbs, founder and managing partner: Thank you for your genius invention, I use them all the time.
  28. Matt A. West, leadership and team-development author: I am a heavy user of your product, thank you.
  29. Dave Crysler, manufacturing and product-development commentator: This is incredible and I had no idea.
  30. Sidequest Books: I thought it was like a trivia or a joke or something. Way to go man.
  31. Michael Earls, enterprise leader: Sometimes the simplest ideas are the ones that endure.
  32. Curt Lockhart, intellectual property attorney: Maybe the law as it stands doesn't do enough to discourage this behavior, but maybe that's intentional.
  33. Rhonda Grubbs, founder and managing partner: What a wonderful piece of history.
  34. Curt Lockhart, intellectual property attorney: In the case of Ford, and likely 3M here, the amount paid in settlement or damages in a lawsuit is significantly less than the overall economic benefit received from the invention.
  35. Diane Bialek, Nottingham property expert: None of the staff in our team could live without them, including me.
  36. Michael Earls, enterprise leader: More than 50 years later, with AI, apps, digital assistants, and endless productivity tools surrounding us, I still find myself reaching for that little piece of paper.
  37. Alan Amron: Press-On Memo and Post-it are names. The sticky note is the invention.
  38. Alan Amron: In 1973, at 24, Alan Amron invented the Press-On Memo sticky note, today known as the Post-it sticky note by 3M.
  39. Kurtis Charlton, Managing Director, Intromark: Your contribution to the industry is greatly appreciated.
  40. momo_moon_song, Instagram commenter: lol stahhhp. You did not.
  41. Kurtis Charlton, Managing Director, Intromark: Many of the world's ideas all started with your product.
  42. Adrian Neumeyer: Thank you for helping us stay on top of our tasks, Alan.
  43. Nabil Abdoun, Doctor of Computer Engineering: Amron’s receipts are more substantial than most people assume when they hear the 3M version.
  44. Tntra, LinkedIn, September 15, 2026: My use of your invention must go into the thousands over a 30yr career, I even used them today!
  45. Beth Py-Lieberman, former senior editor at Smithsonian magazine for 36 years, in an August 20, 2026 email on Arthur Fry’s Post-it origin story: I’m pretty clear about Fry’s contribution being more ‘legend’ than anything else.
  46. Alan Amron: A former senior editor at Smithsonian magazine told me she reads Fry’s Post-it contribution as legend, and the magazine still won’t update its 22-year-old article. Based on an August 20, 2026 email.
  47. Herbert Roberts, P.E., consulting forensic engineer and inventor of record on dozens of patents: Amron kept original dated artifacts — chemist’s letter, postal receipt, incorporation papers — for over 50 years. That’s the difference between a claim and a case.
  48. Herbert Roberts, P.E., consulting forensic engineer and inventor of record on dozens of patents: That’s the difference between a claim and a case.
  49. David had receipts. And apparently, David had a witness. The story of Alan Amron and the sticky note. Dated documents: November 29, 1973; July 22, 1974; Press On Memo Ltd., July 24, 1974. Ideas can start anywhere — Alan Amron. Who gets credit for the idea?
  50. Press-On, the original sticky note, 1973, by inventor Alan Amron. Note pads and page markers. Jot it down. Press on anywhere.
  51. Press-On, the original sticky note, 1973, by inventor Alan Amron. Note pads and page markers. Jot it down. Press on anywhere.
  52. Press-On, the original sticky note, 1973, by inventor Alan Amron. Note pads and page markers. Jot it down. Press on anywhere.
  53. Alan Amron, written September 28, 2026: The last non-lawyer to be heard by the Supreme Court was Samuel Sloan in 1978. He won 9–0. My question for the nine Justices is simple: How could I have brought a claim based on 3M’s conduct before that conduct happened? Alan Amron v. 3M Company, No. 26-5031, Supreme Court of the United States.
  54. Alan Amron, Inventor of the Sticky Notes, 1973, statement dated October 5, 2026, Alan Amron v. 3M Company, No. 26-5031: The Supreme Court declined to hear my case. That is not a ruling on the merits, and it does not answer the question I asked: How could I have sued over 3M’s position on our settlement before 3M took that position in January 2024? The Court was never asked who invented the sticky note, and nothing in this decision touches that. My dated 1973 and 1974 records and 3M’s own April 6, 1998 letter are public at stickynotesinventor.com/who-invented-the-sticky-note. Anyone can read them and decide for themselves.
  55. Alan Amron, Inventor of the Sticky Notes, 1973: Draft him #1. Draft boards. Practice plans. Team meetings. How NFL teams work: sticky notes at the draft, in every practice facility and every team meeting.
  56. Alan Amron, Inventor of the Sticky Notes, 1973: Red Right Post, a play drawn on a sticky note the way coaches draw them for practice and team meetings: 11 on offense with seven on the line, 11 on defense in a 4-3, and the receiver marked #1 running the post. How NFL teams work: sticky notes at the draft, in every practice facility and every team meeting.
  57. Alan Amron, Inventor of the Sticky Notes, 1973: Stories take shape on sticky notes. A film team storyboards a movie scene by scene on a wall of sticky notes.
  58. Who invented the sticky note? stickynotesinventor.com