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Patents (what protects inventions) have nothing to do with copyright.

shagie 9mo ago
I think the suggestion is more around people like Lowell - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Cabot_Lowell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Cabot_Lowell > Despite political independence, the United States remained dependent on imports for manufactured goods. The conflicts between the European Powers and the Embargo of 1807 severely disrupted trade between the United States, Great Britain, France and Asia. Lowell reached the conclusion that to be truly independent, the United States needed to manufacture goods at home. In June 1810, he went on a two-year visit with his family to Britain. ... Lowell developed an interest in the textile industries of Lancashire and Scotland, especially the spinning and weaving machines, which were operated by water power or steam power. He was not able to buy drawings or a model of a power loom. He secretly studied the machines. In Edinburgh he met fellow American Nathan Appleton who would later become a partner in the Lowell mills. As the War of 1812 began, Lowell and his family left Europe and on their way home, the boat and all their personal belongings were searched at the Halifax port to ensure that no contraband was being smuggled out of Great Britain. Lowell had memorized all the workings of British power looms without writing anything down. Or Samuel Slater - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Slater https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Slater > Samuel Slater (June 9, 1768 – April 21, 1835) was an early English-American industrialist known as the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution", a phrase coined by Andrew Jackson, and the "Father of the American Factory System". In the United Kingdom, he was called "Slater the Traitor" and "Sam the Slate" because he brought British textile technology to the United States, modifying it for American use. He memorized the textile factory machinery designs as an apprentice to a pioneer in the British industry before migrating to the U.S. at the age of 21. --- Industrial espionage and acts that would be considered patent infringement in today's timeframe were key parts of the early independence for the United States.
- datsci_est_2015 9mo ago
  Just gotta say I love these historical slam dunks. Thank you for bringing the receipts.
- Aloisius 9mo ago
  I'm not sure these are the best examples. Neither case would be considered patent infringement as the original inventions were too old to be protected by patents even had the British filed for patent protection in the US. Moreover, Lowell made substantial improvements which would have been considered a new invention anyway - which is the whole point of the patent system.
croes 9mo ago
Remember when the Francis Cabot Lowell copied the Power Loom through industrial espionage?
throw0101c 9mo ago
> Patents (what protects inventions) have nothing to do with copyright. Besides sibling comment, see "The Spies Who Launched America’s Industrial Revolution": > Long before the United States began accusing other countries of stealing ideas, the U.S. government encouraged intellectual piracy to catch up with England’s technological advances. According to historian Doron Ben-Atar, in his book,[1] Trade Secrets, “the United States emerged as the world's industrial leader by illicitly appropriating mechanical and scientific innovations from Europe.” * https://www.history.com/articles/industrial-revolution-spies-europe https://www.history.com/articles/industrial-revolution-spies...

I think the suggestion is more around people like Lowell - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Cabot_Lowell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Cabot_Lowell > Despite political independence, the United States remained dependent on imports for manufactured goods. The conflicts between the European Powers and the Embargo of 1807 severely disrupted trade between the United States, Great Britain, France and Asia. Lowell reached the conclusion that to be truly independent, the United States needed to manufacture goods at home. In June 1810, he went on a two-year visit with his family to Britain. ... Lowell developed an interest in the textile industries of Lancashire and Scotland, especially the spinning and weaving machines, which were operated by water power or steam power. He was not able to buy drawings or a model of a power loom. He secretly studied the machines. In Edinburgh he met fellow American Nathan Appleton who would later become a partner in the Lowell mills. As the War of 1812 began, Lowell and his family left Europe and on their way home, the boat and all their personal belongings were searched at the Halifax port to ensure that no contraband was being smuggled out of Great Britain. Lowell had memorized all the workings of British power looms without writing anything down. Or Samuel Slater - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Slater https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Slater > Samuel Slater (June 9, 1768 – April 21, 1835) was an early English-American industrialist known as the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution", a phrase coined by Andrew Jackson, and the "Father of the American Factory System". In the United Kingdom, he was called "Slater the Traitor" and "Sam the Slate" because he brought British textile technology to the United States, modifying it for American use. He memorized the textile factory machinery designs as an apprentice to a pioneer in the British industry before migrating to the U.S. at the age of 21. --- Industrial espionage and acts that would be considered patent infringement in today's timeframe were key parts of the early independence for the United States.

datsci_est_2015 9mo ago
Just gotta say I love these historical slam dunks. Thank you for bringing the receipts.
Aloisius 9mo ago
I'm not sure these are the best examples. Neither case would be considered patent infringement as the original inventions were too old to be protected by patents even had the British filed for patent protection in the US. Moreover, Lowell made substantial improvements which would have been considered a new invention anyway - which is the whole point of the patent system.

croes 9mo ago

Remember when the Francis Cabot Lowell copied the Power Loom through industrial espionage?

throw0101c 9mo ago

> Patents (what protects inventions) have nothing to do with copyright. Besides sibling comment, see "The Spies Who Launched America’s Industrial Revolution": > Long before the United States began accusing other countries of stealing ideas, the U.S. government encouraged intellectual piracy to catch up with England’s technological advances. According to historian Doron Ben-Atar, in his book,[1] Trade Secrets, “the United States emerged as the world's industrial leader by illicitly appropriating mechanical and scientific innovations from Europe.” * https://www.history.com/articles/industrial-revolution-spies-europe https://www.history.com/articles/industrial-revolution-spies...