Interestingly Lawrence Hargrave, the Australian aviation pioneer, opposed patents: "Workers must root out the idea [that] by keeping the results of their labou

Interestingly Lawrence Hargrave, the Australian aviation pioneer, opposed patents: "Workers must root out the idea [that] by keeping the results of their labours to themselves[,] a fortune will be assured to them. Patent fees are much wasted money. The flying machine of the future will not be born fully fledged and capable of a flight for 1000 miles or so. Like everything else it must be evolved gradually. The first difficulty is to get a thing that will fly at all. When this is made, a full description should be published as an aid to others. Excellence of design and workmanship will always defy competition."