That is what happened to Antonio Meucci, he couldn’t raise the amount required to patent his telephone so Bell stole the idea and beat him to a formal patent. Doesn’t mean Bell was the first to invent it.
LOL! He did file a patent ... A patent for basically two cans connected by a string wire.
“That is what happened to Antonio Meucci, he couldn’t raise the amount required to patent his telephone so Bell stole the idea and beat him to a formal patent. Doesn’t mean Bell was the first to invent it.”
(Your later link)
On 28 December 1874, Meucci’s Telettrofono patent caveat expired. Critics dispute the claim that Meucci could not afford to file for a patent or renew his caveat, as he filed for and was granted full patents in 1872, 1873, 1875, and 1876, at the cost of $35 each, as well as one additional $10 patent caveat, all totaling $150, for inventions unrelated to the telephone