English Patent System and Early Railway Technology, 1800-1852

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  • Name Intellectual property inc patents, trade marks, designs & copyright inc management

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Examines the relationship between the English patent system and early railway related inventive activity prior to the 1852 Patent Law Amendment Act, and its significance in influencing the rate and direction of railway technology development. Finds that 'inventors involved in railway related technology found great utility in a unique patent system which they used, relied upon, and promoted to their peers'. Draws on the experience of Mark I Brunel and Isambard K Brunel; of George and Robert Stephenson; and to lesser extent of John Ramsbottom; of William Cooke; and of Charles Wheatstone. Chapters include: 'The patent system - a disputed historiography'; 'Value of patent data'; 'Inventive activity outside the patent system'; 'George Stephenson and Robert Stephenson' covering Edward Pease / Robert Stephenson and Co / Edward Starbuck / Stanton Croft & Co; 'Mark Isambard Brunel and Isambard Kingdom Brunel'; 'John Ramsbottom, William Cooke, Charles Wheatstone'; 'Materials and equipment'