Levi Strauss’s riveted-trousers patent was granted in the United States on May 20, 1873.
The patent was issued to businessman Levi Strauss and tailor Jacob Davis. It covered the use of copper rivets to strengthen stress points on work trousers, especially pocket corners and the base of the button fly. The innovation addressed a practical problem faced by miners, laborers, and other workers whose pockets and seams often tore under heavy use.
The patent date is often confused with the year the partners began selling riveted trousers. Their business relationship and experiments preceded the patent, but May 20, 1873, marks the formal U.S. grant. The patent helped establish the construction method that later became strongly associated with blue jeans.
The original garments were described as waist overalls rather than jeans. The familiar five-pocket blue-jean design developed gradually through later changes in fabric, stitching, labels, and fit.