This paper analyzes the consequences of radical patent-regime change by exploiting a natural experiment: the forced adoption of the Prussian patent system in territories annexed after the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. Compared to other German states, Prussia granted patents more restrictively by...

Einleitung -- Institutionelle und wirtschaftliche Rahmenbedingungen -- Indikatoren zur Messung von Innovationstätigkeit -- Die Innovationsdynamik in der ersten Phase der Industriellen Revolution -- Vom Einzelerfinder zum innovativen Unternehmen -- Regionale Entwicklungsunterschiede und deren...

In our days, German machine tool makers accuse their Chinese competitors of violating patent rights and illegally imitating German technology. A century ago, however, German machine tool makers used exactly the same methods to imitate American technology. To understand the dynamics of this...