Procuring promising provisions: the British patent system and the Navy Proviso, 1794-1831

Billington, S. and Lane, J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0216-1508 (2025) Procuring promising provisions: the British patent system and the Navy Proviso, 1794-1831. European Review of Economic History. ISSN 1474-0044 doi: 10.1093/ereh/heaf011

Abstract/Summary

In 1794, the British State intervened in the patent system by introducing the Navy proviso, a legal proviso targeted at select patents compelling the patentee to supply their invention to the State on terms set by state-appointed adjudicators. This study employs new patent and archival data to examine the proviso’s origins, administration, and which technologies it was targeted at. Our findings reveal the state targeted technologies to enhance logistical and operational capacities during wartime, addressing potential undersupply in private markets. Functioning similarly to patent buyouts and compulsory licensing, the proviso may have encouraged technical change and knowledge dissemination.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/123310
Identification Number/DOI	10.1093/ereh/heaf011
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Henley Business School > International Business and Strategy
Publisher	Oxford University Press
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