The Role of Patents in Innovation History, From the Industrial Revolution to Today

This week on IPWatchdog Unleashed we go back in time for a historical conversation about the role patents have played with respect to innovation, and push back on the myth that patents were not necessary for the innovations that took place during the Industrial Revolution. In fact, virtually every invention of consequence during the Industrial Revolution was patented, and patents played a major role in encouraging investment and innovations actually making it to market, just as patents continue to play a similar vital role in the virtuous cycle of innovation. You can listen to our full discussion wherever you get your podcasts (links here) or visit IPWatchdog Unleashed on Buzzsprout. You can also read a transcript of our conversation, or watch the video on YouTube.

Our conversation this week is with Arthur Daemmrich, who is the Director of the Consortium of Science, Policy and Outcomes at Arizona State University. Arthur is a historian who was previously director of the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the Smithsonian Institution. We speak with Arthur about the role patents have played in innovation, dating back to the Industrial Revolution. We also discuss the invention of the video game by Ralph Baer, Samuel Colt and his mass produced, fully interchangeable six-shooter known as the gun that won the West, which revolutionized manufacturing. We also discuss Henry Ford and the assembly line, how and why Elon Musk succeeded with Tesla, and much more.

Arthur and I also discuss how and why a patent is not a monopoly, and that the founding fathers were trying to prevent the exclusive business franchise that had been given by the king to one individual or company regardless of whether there was any innovation or improvement; a practice that Britain had already moved away from by the adoption of the U.S. Constitution. We also discuss how the only place in the Constitution the word “right” is used is in the context of patents and copyrights, with the remainder of the Constitution itself being about the interaction of the branches of government and limitations on the power of government, which in 2024 seems more honored in breach than in following a strict interpretation of the text. And we also discuss how President George Washington was the first patent licensee in America, a story that is told on tours today of the Grist Mill at Mount Vernon.

So, without further ado, please listen to our conversation with Arthur Daemmrich, and check out past episodes of IPWatchdog Unleashed.

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