The Edison and Swan United Electric Light Co Ltd registered on the 26th October 1883 as the result of a court settlement related to infringement of patent rights to the light bulb brought by Thomas Edison against Joseph Swan who had received an English Patent for the incandescent lamp in 1878.

The company continued to be known by this name until the early 1900s when the name Edison Swan Electric Co became more commonly used. As well as manufacturing light bulbs the company also set up the first radio thermionic valve production facility at Ponders End in 1916.

Ediswan became a trade mark because of the earlier court ruling. The company eventually became part of British Thomson-Houston Co. In the same year with the creation of Associated Electrical industries and as part of the rationalisation of the group of companies. Production of Cosmos light bulbs was transferred to Edison Swan Electric Co Ltd from Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd in 1928