American patent law : a business and economic history / Robert P. Merges, University of California, Berkeley.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Merges, Robert P., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Patent laws and legislation--United States--History.

Patent laws and legislation.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xix, 515 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2022.

Summary:

Students and established scholars of intellectual property law often look for historical context when trying to understand the development and present-day contours of IP rules and systems. American Patent Law supplies this context, offering readers a comprehensive account of the evolution of the US patent system and patent doctrine beginning in 1790. From the technologies for harvesting wood and shoemaking in the earliest periods to computer software and biotechnology of the present, each chapter of the book covers the characteristic technologies of each historical era. The book also describes how businesspeople in each era acquired and enforced patents and used patents as the foundation of various business arrangements. This book is a landmark in the history of technologies, the US patent system, and the way private actors have deployed patents across American history.

Contents:

Introduction : overview and themes

Founding era Patent Law, 1790-1820

The Jacksonian Era and early industrialization, 1820-1880

Corporatization, 1880-1920

1921-1982 : patents in and out of the headlines

The Federal Circuit Era

In conclusion : the private (law) life of patents.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 02 Feb 2023).

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

9781009129206 (ebook)

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.