Levi Strauss & Co. received the patent for riveted denim work pants in 1873.
The patent was issued to Levi Strauss and tailor Jacob W. Davis on May 20, 1873. Davis had proposed reinforcing the stress points of work trousers with copper rivets, while Strauss supplied the denim and helped commercialize the garment. The patent covered the use of rivets to strengthen pocket corners and other strain points.
The patented trousers were designed for miners, railroad workers, farmers, and other laborers. They were not initially marketed as fashionable jeans; their appeal came from durability. Levi Strauss & Co. later became closely associated with the five-pocket blue-jean design, especially the 501 model.
A common mix-up is treating 1873 as the invention of denim itself. Denim fabric and work trousers existed earlier. The patent concerned a particular reinforced construction, which helped turn a practical garment into a major clothing category.