Mistake: A company rejected the patent for the telephone. In 1876, the most important communications technology was the telegraph. A wealthy company called Western Union was in control of this technology The president of the company, William Orton, was offered the patent for an invention called the telephone for $100,000. Orton sent a response to the 29-year- old inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell. It said, "After careful consideration of your while it is a very interesting novelty, we have come to the conclusion that it has no commercial possibilities..