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James Watt's patents stalled steam engine development for about 20 years. There was a sudden burst of innovation after they expired in 1800.
by namaria 2y ago
James Watt's patents stalled steam engine development for about 20 years. There was a sudden burst of innovation after they expired in 1800.
- openrisk 2y agoEven before patents there were actively ringfenced technologies by state actors (silk comes to mind). But todays supression feels almost catholic in its reach across the economy. Which is imho directly linked to digital tech being both a set of sectoral technologies and the universal means of information exchange.