Patents laws were in place before the industrial revolution, in the UK long before, and in the US around mid 19th century. So most industrial growth happened a

Patents laws were in place before the industrial revolution, in the UK long before, and in the US around mid 19th century. So most industrial growth happened after patents were part of commercial practice. I suggest patents are less important now than they were then at least for what they are supposed to be used for ... patents may be increasing in terms of corporate importance, but more as a general legal asset than anything. Trademarks and copyrights is a whole other thing.