The British patent system during the industrial revolution, 1700-1852 : from privilege to property / Sean Bottomley.

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2014.

1st edition

86636

Patent laws and legislation -- Great Britain -- History.

Industrial revolution -- Great Britain -- History.

Industrialization -- Great Britain -- History.

1. Introduction

2. The administration of patents : a poor man's tale?

3. The jurisprudence of patents : the specification requirement

4. Of patents and pirates : the adjudication of patent disputes

5. The substantive development of patent law

6. Patents and the industrial enlightment

7. The market in patent rights

8. Patents and the Newcomen and Watt steam engines

9. Capital, patents and the joint-stock company.

Could it be that giving intellectual property rights to inventors paved the way to industrialization? There is no doubt that patenting played an important role in encouraging innovative activities. However, for many early inventors, patent protection was ineffective. Bottomley, methodically unpacks whether patents really were so difficult for inventors to obtain and enforce from 1700 to the passing of the Patent Law Amendment Act in 1852. In doing so, Bottomley is concerned with accessibility to the patent system, the developing jurisprudence, the process of resolving patent disputes and the remedies then available in England, Scotland and Ireland. The second part of the book goes on to explore the possibility of the patent system encouraging the development and diffusion of technology during the Industrial Revolution. One focus in this part of the book is the market for patent rights. There is an interesting analysis of the use of the patent system by Thomas Newcomen (the atmospheric engine) and James Watt (separate condenser). James Watt's patent is said to have delayed the Industrial Revolution by a decade or two because he used the patent system to smash competition. This book is a surprisingly interesting read.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

9781107058293

xi, 330 p. : ill. ; 24 cm