Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: This article examines the phenomenon of independent invention in I taly during the L iberal A ge (1861–1913). It makes use of a new dataset comprising all patents granted in I taly in five benchmark years: 1864–5, 1881, 1891, 1902, and 1911. The following exercises are carried out. First, an examination is undertaken of the shares of independent, corporate, and foreign inventions and their evolution over time and across industries. Second, by exploiting the peculiarities of Italian patent legislation, which was characterized by relatively cheap fees and a flexible renewal scheme, the relative quality of independent and corporate patents is assessed. The results indicate that in Italy independent inventors made an important contribution to technological change in terms of number of patents, but the quality of their patents was significantly lower than that of firms and of foreign patentees.
Source: The Economic History Review
DOI: 10.1111/ehr.12087
Authors: Alessandro Nuvolari, Michelangelo Vasta
Institutions: Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, University of Siena
Language: English
Subfield: Management of Technology and Innovation
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W1556185847