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very insightful article - thanks ... an excellent book which outlines the intellectual property protection which was a direct enabler of development of the steam engine is titled "The Most Powerful Idea in the World" by William Rosen ... I highly recommend this book

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Libertarian and anarchist philosophy rejects the granting of monopoly protections. I agree with much of what they seek in politics and culture but I disagree with this. I believe they reject monopoly protections because these grants of monopoly have been grossly abused to the profit of the grantor and grantee while preventing or retarding invention and innovation - the opposite of what *limited* monopolies were intended for. Ten or twenty years is enough for any inventor to either make the best of their idea on their own or sell or license it - along with the monopoly - to someone else who has the means to develop, market and promote it.

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History Buff

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The focus on the inventors and their personal incentives is all but lost from discussion of patent reform today.

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Did the 1874 Venetian Statute have this "government use" provision?

"But our Government will be free, at its complete discretion, to take and use for its needs any of the said contrivances and instruments, with this condition, however, that no one other than the authors shall operate them."

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