Institutionalising Patents in Nineteenth-Century Spain

verfasst von: Dr. David Pretel

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Buchreihe : Palgrave Studies in Economic History

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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Über dieses Buch

This book examines the development of the Spanish patent system in the years 1826 to 1902, providing a fundamental reassessment of its evolution in an international context. The Spanish case is particularly interesting because of this country’s location on the so-called European periphery and also because of the centrality of its colonial dimension. Pretel gauges the political regulation and organisation of the system, showing how it was established and how it evolved following international patterns of technological globalisation and the emergence of the ‘international patent system’ during the late nineteenth century.

Crucially, he highlights the construction and evolution of the patent system in response to the needs of Spain's technologically dependent economy. The degree of industrial backwardness in mid-nineteenth-century Spain set the stage for the institutionalisation of its modern patent system. This institutionalisation process also entailed the introduction of a new technological culture, social infrastructure and narrative that supported intellectual property rights. This book is important reading to all those interested in the history of patents and their role in globalisation.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

1. Institutionalising Backwardness

Abstract

The relative industrial backwardness of nineteenth-century Spain set the stage for the institutionalisation of its patent system between 1826 and 1902. International patterns of technological development, industrialisation and trade largely explain the distinctive peripheral character of Spain’s patent system and its institutional organisation. The institutionalisation of patent rights in this country went hand in hand with the expansion of a new industrial culture, socio-technical infrastructure and a rhetoric in support of intellectual property rights. This chapter provides the historical context and analytical framework for an understanding of the evolution of the Spanish patent institution and culture during the nineteenth century.

David Pretel

2. Making the System

Abstract

The Spanish patent system was established, developed and maintained through pragmatic legal regulations and public rhetoric that supported intellectual property rights on inventions. This chapter considers the key institutional features of the system—including the tacit rules and deliberate administrative arrangements at work. It also seeks to understand the motivations and assumptions of those who created and shaped the Spanish system to function as it did within a context of political and doctrinal discussions about patent regulation and reform and, more broadly, the mid-nineteenth-century European controversy on the matter. The chapter finishes with a study of the evolving patenting activity in the system between 1826 and 1902, including the nature of patent culture and the role of patentees in modelling the system.

David Pretel

3. Organising the System

Abstract

This chapter looks at the broader social context in which patenting took place in Spain during the nineteenth century. The 1870s marked a pivotal moment in the organisation of innovative activity in Spain. From then on, a social infrastructure facilitating patenting developed around the patent office. A variety of agents—such as intermediaries, lawyers and consulting engineers—placed themselves at the centre of the Spanish institution that granted intellectual property rights, shaping it and adapting it to the conditions and requirements of a peripheral European economy. Meanwhile, specialised technical publications, including an array of patent journals, became the broader cultural infrastructure supporting patentees, companies and intermediaries that used the Spanish patent system.

David Pretel

4. The International Dimension

Abstract

Spain occupied a peripheral position in the globalising Atlantic world economy of the nineteenth century, as evidenced by the way it integrated into the international patent system. Two features characterised the relationship of the Spanish patent system with the broader global dynamics of the time: first, its openness to foreign patenting and strong institutional dependency and, second, the prevalence of transfer agents who facilitated the transmission of knowledge and information to Spain. This analysis of the international dimension of the system concludes with the case study of Julio Vizcarrondo and the Elzaburu agency, the pioneer professional patent business in Spain that assisted foreign inventors and companies.

David Pretel

5. The Colonial Dimension

Abstract

This chapter studies the colonial dimension of the Spanish patent system during the nineteenth century. The first section explores the history of colonial patent institutions in the various Atlantic empires, with particular attention to the case of Latin America. The core of the chapter examines the regulation, administrative practices and technological culture of the imperfect patent system operating in Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Philippines between the 1820s and the 1860s. During the mid-nineteenth century, this neo-mercantilist institution served more as a system of technological information than as a means of protecting the rights of inventors, thereby reflecting the collective interests of colonial agrarian elites. The final part of the chapter traces the institutional reorganisation of the colonial patent system during the late nineteenth century, in a context of multilateral agreements and growing US influence.

David Pretel

6. Inventing Late Industrialisation

Abstract

This book has addressed many crucial debates on the institutionalisation of patents in nineteenth-century Spain, especially during its final decades. It has not addressed all such debates or covered all sides of the debates but has instead concentrated on the aspects of political regulation, bureaucratic organisation, patenting culture and institutional agency. This epilogue provides an account of the historical relationship between institutional diversity and political economy. It also discusses the difference that the patent system made in the technological development and industrialisation of Spain during the nineteenth century. The final part of the chapter makes historically grounded claims about the political economy of patent protection as it pertains to the dynamics of late industrialisation.

David Pretel

Backmatter

Titel: Institutionalising Patents in Nineteenth-Century Spain
verfasst von: Dr. David Pretel
Verlag: Springer International Publishing
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-96298-6
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-96297-9
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96298-6