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The Statute of Monopolies and modern patent law: foundation or elaborate folly?

By Dr Matthew Fisher, UCL Institute of Brand and Innovation Law

Stat of Mon

17 November 2022

Publication details

Matthew Fisher, ‘The Statute of Monopolies and modern patent law: foundation or elaborate folly?’ [2022] Intellectual Property Quarterly 176.

Abstract

The Statute of Monopolies occupies a position of unique foundational significance within the traditional developmental tale of intellectual property law in the United Kingdom. For some, it forms a point of genesis: a platform from which the intricacies of the modern system have grown. For others, it provides a sense of reassurance that while monopolies may ere have been against the ancient and fundamental laws of this realm, patents for invention have always been considered important enough to protect from such castigation. The Statute is both comforting and stable, a focal point in an otherwise somewhat chaotic and disjointed narrative that stretches over the best part of half a century. As the Statute nears its 400th anniversary, however, it seems appropriate to re-examine this legacy. Therefore, drawing from accounts contemporaneous with its drafting, and considering the pressures that led to its creation, we investigate whether these pictures of the Statute are at all justified.