Historical Development of European Patent Law: From National Laws and Customary Practices to the Adoption of Paris Convention (1883)

Abstract

The role of robust patent protection has been widely discussed in intellectual property literature as the key reason behind technological advancement. The voices rising from developing countries and global civil society against stringent patent system are belittled by the counter-argument that industrialized nations reached their zenith of technological progress due to a strong patent regime. The conception of patent was originally born and grew up in Europe through a historical process. Therefore, a thorough inquiry is warranted to address the question as to the legal, political, and economic discourses which gave the patent its current form. Employing historical method of inquiry, the study seeks not only to explore the genesis of patent law but historicise patent regulations, practices, and national legal discourses of European national legal systems. The inquiry aims to investigate the phenomenon within a broader interdisciplinary framework encompassing philosophical discourses on economic, social, and international commerce. The insight into the European mode of industrial revolution and patent system may be helpful in comprehending the presentday phenomenon of legal discourse on patent law and intellectual property.