Was the US planning to sue the Germans if they built the atomic bomb first?

First off, the headline is from a quote in the article. We're not that clever. But NPR reports that the United States patented the atomic bomb in an attempt to get a patent monopoly on an entire brand new industry. Alex Wellerstein, who researched the code name "Manhattan Project," said:

What I really like about the atomic patents is that there is a wonderful banality to it. . . . The bomb, a massive killing machine, is transformed into 'the most boring of engineering feats' . . .

Ok, we're insulted. Everybody knows there is no such thing as a "boring engineering feat," no matter what this article says (it says that science lessons for teenagers are so boring they put kids off the subject for life). Well, duh, that's why you get them to read our blog!