Trade Secrets Trade Secrets: Intellectual Piracy and the Origins of American Industrial Power Doron S Ben-Atar Published with assistance from the Annie Burr Lewis Fund Copyright © 2004 by Yale University All rights reserved This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers Set in Minion types by Keystone Typesetting, Inc Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ben-Atar, Doron S Trade secrets : intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power / Doron S Ben-Atar p cm Includes bibliographical references and index ISBN 0-300-10006-x (alk paper) Business intelligence—United States—History Trade secrets—United States-History Technological innovations—United States—History Piracy (Copyright)— United States—History Industrial property—United States—History I Title HD38.7.B455 2004 338.0973-dc22 2003062506 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources TO THE MEMORY OF Aryeh Yehuda Ben-Atar Istanbul 1919-Kfar Shmaryahu 1998 Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter Knowledge as Property in the International State System Chapter The Battle over Technology within the Empire Chapter Benjamin Franklin and America’s Technology Deficit Chapter After the Revolution: “The American Seduction of Machines and Artisans” Chapter Official Orchestration of Technology Smuggling Chapter Constructing the American Understanding of Intellectual Property Chapter The Path to Crystal Palace Notes Index Acknowledgments Milan Kundera wrote that modern times make it easy “to betray friends in the name of what are called convictions And to so with moral righteousness… Unlike pretentious fidelity to convictions, fidelity to a friend is a virtue, perhaps the only virtue, perhaps the only one left.” I have, in the process of writing this book, relied on others to point me in the right direction, correct my errors, and give me personal and professional support I take great pleasure not only in acknowledging their help on this particular project, but in thanking them for the loyalty and friendship that made the completion of this project possible I have been fortunate to know many virtuous people Peter Gay is a wonderfully loyal friend who has been a phenomenal intellectual model and mentor for over a decade He went over the manuscript and asked questions that made me reconsider and rewrite John Demos was the first professor I met when I came to my undergraduate studies at Brandeis in 1979 Over the years he tolerated my professional wanderings and did not lose faith in my abilities John was there for me during the lowest points of this project, when I wanted to drop it altogether and quit the profession John’s personal encouragement and commitment to finding the human story pushed me to incorporate human narratives in this study David Bell, who has been the most dependable friend and confidant for the past twelve years, has helped me sort out some of the theoretical issues and gave wonderful advice on things big and small Connie Gersick took time off from working on her own manuscript and gave this book a critical read from the perspective of economics and organizational behavior Finally, Barbara Oberg, who migrated from the Franklin to the Jefferson papers midway through this project, has generously given of her scholarly knowledge and has been a co-author and a reliable friend I am not a technology buff In fact, my eyes glaze over when I read the simplest instruction booklet I therefore had to learn a great deal to be able to this work David Jeremy, whose work I admire, was instrumental in helping me get my feet wet, providing insight and direction when he was the outside reader for my first foray into the history of technology—an essay I published in the William and Mary Quarterly in 1995 Darwin Stapleton, who left academia to run the Rockefeller archives, gave me wonderful advice when this project was just in its infancy And most importantly, this work could not have been written without the help, kindness, and hard work of Carolyn Cooper Carolyn has been my tech mentor from the outset While I am a notorious klutz, Caroline is a whiz at the inner workings of eighteenth-century technology She patiently explained to me, sometime drawing on a napkin at lunch, the way these machines really worked She diligently went over the manuscript, helping me sort out the various stages of innovation and patenting Because intellectual property is a legal concept, I had to master important and subtle legal issues Bruce Mann introduced me to legal history in 1989 and has been a friend and supporter since Anne Dailey invited me to present a portion of this work at the University of Connecticut School of Law faculty seminar where I received many helpful suggestions John Witt, a former student turned scholar, invited me to present another chapter at the Yale Law School history seminar where I learned a great deal I have never met Edward Walterscheid, but over the last few years we have engaged in a series of academic exchanges that taught me a great deal about the history and mechanics of the American patent law I am grateful to Yale and Fordham for providing me financial support in the form of academic leaves and research grants so that I could complete the project This book was much improved from discussions I had when I presented portions of the work at the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, the Library Company of Philadelphia’s inaugural conference on early American economic history, and faculty seminars at Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University Special thanks to Roy Goodman of the American Philosophical Society; Ene Sirvet of the Jay Papers; Ellen Cohen, Kate Ono, and Jonathan Dull of the Franklin Papers; the late Eugene Sheridan of the Jefferson Papers; David Mattern of the Madison Papers; Ryan Shepard of the Historical Society of Washington, D.C.; Charlene Peacock of the Library Company of Philadelphia; Kristen Froehlich of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania Collection At water Kent Museum; and Susan Newton of the Winterthur Museum The following scholars have made invaluable suggestions when commenting on various portions of the book: James M Banner, Jacob Cooke, Elaine Crane, J Robert Glen, Arnon Gutfeld, Michael McGifert, Peter Onuf, Eric Papenfuse, and Herb Sloan I also wish to acknowledge the help of Yehoshua Arieli, Greg Flynn, Tim Gilfoyle, Glenda Gilmore and Rebecca Keith The staff of Yale University Press, particularly Keith Condon, helped me sort out all the details involved in turning the manuscript into a book Gavin Lewis’s careful copyediting corrected many errors, large and small Most of all, I am very fortunate to have worked with my editor, Lara Heimert Lara was in my corner from the outset and supported the project with the board of the press She went over the manuscript with great care and made insightful suggestions She brought news of the changes she desired with great tact and care, sometimes over lunch, and did not complain when we had to skip dessert She was a responsive sounding board, promptly answering my e-mails at various hours of the day and from various locations on the earth Pinchus Cohen, Yaacov Kazes, Leon Segal, and Ron Zuckerman have been my closest friends since I was four They have been at my side to celebrate victories and to nurse me through defeats Our occasional retreats in Israel, Egypt, Italy, and Turkey provided a much-needed break from the ordinary grind As witnesses of my past and present they have been both my mirror and my memory I owe a great deal to my family My children, Assaf, Heddy, and Daniel, could not care less about technology piracy and intellectual property in the early republic For them, this book symbolizes my wasted earning potential Jo has been a wonderful and supportive companion who has thus far tolerated academia quite well One day she may indeed feel at home at dinner parties where the punch line to a joke is in German I am also fortunate to have had the love and support of my family in Israel, my mother Roma Ben-Atar and my sister’s family, Irit, Oded, Michal, and Yonathan Barr I am dedicating this book to the memory of my father, Aryeh Yehuda Ben-Atar Born in Istanbul in April 1919 to a poor mercantile family, he did not enjoy the privileges of education and economic security he provided his children While he never graduated from high school, he mastered many European tongues and helped me to translate some of the foreign language texts I used in researching the book He did not live to see it to its completion He died on July 15, 1998 I think of him daily Introduction Who hasn’t heard of Eli Whitney and his cotton gin? Every schoolchild, from New England to the Middle East, learns of the mechanical whiz who went down south in the early 1790s and developed a contraption that separated the cottonseed from its surrounding fiber Whitney’s machine removed the most daunting obstacle to the production of cotton—the labor-intensive process of separation—and made the growing of short-staple cotton economically profitable It revived southern agriculture, boosted western expansion, generated capital for northern industrialization, and entrenched the American addiction to chattel slavery The man who left his mark on every major aspect of the nineteenth-century United States has been immortalized as towns, neighborhoods, streets, museums, and websites took his name Visitors to New Haven stop by the Grove Street cemetery to have their pictures taken by Whitney’s pretentious gravestone, modeled after that of the Roman general Scipio who defeated Carthage The machine that secured Whitney’s place in the pantheon of great Americans, however, drained his financial resources Whitney did not rush to secure a patent for his invention, and a few local planters in Georgia, upon hearing of the machine, broke into his workshop, stole a model, and before long duplicates appeared all over the south Whitney returned to Connecticut in hopes of perfecting his invention, getting a patent, and returning to the south with the exclusive right of selling the machine He secured capital by partnering with lawyer Phineas Miller On June 20, 1793, Whitney presented his petition for a patent to Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson and the following October took an oath in New Haven in front of a notary to the effect that he was the original inventor of the cotton gin Whitney and Miller, however, could neither monopolize nor control the manufacturing of cotton gins They filed suits against infringers of their patent and turned to state legislatures in search of legal remedies and monetary compensation Yet their legal maneuvers and lobbying efforts proved frustrating Southern manufacturers disputed Whitney’s claim to originality In Georgia, a legislative committee declined to pay him a licensing fee, citing the testimony of a Columbia county doctor who claimed he had seen a similar machine in use forty years earlier in Switzerland In the numerous court cases that Whitney and Miller filed, southern defendants brought forth witnesses who claimed to have seen the cotton gin in action decades earlier in England and Ireland This argument proved so effective that Whitney contemplated traveling to Europe in 1799 to file for a patent for his cotton gin in all nations that had cotton-producing colonies Whitney stayed in America and his legal fortunes improved He won a few cases in southern courts and persuaded the state legislatures of North and South Carolina to pay him some licensing fees Yet, the fees he collected and the damages he won did not cover his legal costs—he initiated over sixty lawsuits for patent infringements in Georgia alone Moreover, only in 1807, some fifteen years after his famous trip, did the courts validate his exclusive claim to the cotton gin The legal wrangling embittered him Shortly before his death he confided to an intimate friend that “all he had received for the invention of the cotton gin, had not more than compensated him for the enormous expenses which he had incurred, and for the time which he had devoted during the best years of his life in the prosecution of this subject.”1 The challenge to Whitney’s claim of originality rested on supposedly preexisting devices already in use outside the borders of the United States Southern juries and state legislatures believed that the cotton gin was brought over from Europe rather than invented by Whitney because just about everywhere they turned they encountered imported technology Whitney’s failure to cash in on the fruits of his invention highlights the central paradox of the emerging American understanding of intellectual property The United States enacted a patent law in 1790 that restricted patent protection exclusively to original inventors and ruled that prior use anywhere automatically invalidated a patent Alas, this principled commitment to absolute intellectual property had little to with reality Smuggling technology from Europe and claiming the privileges of invention was quite common and most of the political and intellectual elite of the revolutionary and early national generation were directly or indirectly involved in technology piracy And they were following in the footsteps of their ancestors Americans had welcomed such practices since the early days of European colonization The American nickname “Yankee” originated in the Dutch word for “smuggler,” and suggests that violation of European economic restrictions had been second nature to the colonists from the early days of settlement The gap between law and practice is still with us Presently, the battle over intellectual property has risen to the forefront of contemporary international contests in which developed and developing nations often find themselves in opposing camps As developed nations moved to high-tech industries and services in the last few decades of the twentieth century, they came to rely on knowledge as the central component of their economies The movement of manufacturing to the developing world where raw materials are readily available and labor costs are low has rendered intellectual capital the most important asset of developed nations International organizations have adopted Western standards of intellectual property and have erected an international agency—the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)—“dedicated to helping to ensure that the rights of creators and owners of intellectual property are protected worldwide and that inventors and authors are, thus, recognized and rewarded for their ingenuity.” For all their economic and diplomatic might, however, developed nations have thus far failed to enforce their intellectual property regime In 1999 the European Union issued a study of the gargantuan cost of counterfeiting and piracy to the West The infringements range from computer software to spare automobile parts, from musical recordings to medical instruments Hundreds of billions of dollars are lost annually—the software industry alone loses almost $12 billion a year, and 80 percent of the software used in the Third World is pirated The missing revenue and trade in pharmaceuticals alone are responsible for the loss of some 200,000 jobs in the United States Developing nations, on the other hand, resist Western standards of intellectual property, charging that they are economically self-serving and that the developed world, led by the United States, applies these standards in an inconsistent manner Societies struggling to lift their people out of abject poverty and to provide them with minimal health care cannot afford the luxury of protecting the intellectual property of the rich and powerful Many consumers in the developing world who live on a dollar a day cannot afford to pay for an officially sanctioned popular music CD or computer software program In the name of protecting intellectual property, Western-based companies have marshaled international agencies to enforce their claims with mind-boggling cruelty Drug patents, in particular, are used to block access to anti-HIV/AIDS drugs in Asia and Africa And the Western mania for ownership of ideas reached new heights in the 1990s as private companies and academic institutions took out patents on their “discoveries” of the human genome, thereby staking an ownership claim over the genetic makeup of the human race.2 Bache, Richard, 56, 72 Baltimore, 149 Bancroft, Edward, 68 Bard, Samuel, 95 Barlow, Joel, 126 Barnes, Joseph, 168, 256 Barr, Robert and Alexander, 131 Barton, William, 89 Bartram, William, 94 Beaufort, Count of, 122 Beckwith, George, 173 Bell, Robert, 86 Bentham, Samuel, 178 Bernard, Thomas, 31-32 Beverly, Mass., 129-30 Biddle, Owen, 85 Bingham, William, 112-13 Board of Trade, 22-26, 31, 36, 257; restricts immigration to colonies, 33, 34 Bond, Phineas, 78, 79, 88, 102, 173, 189 Boorstin, Daniel, 210 “Boston Associates,” 202-3, 204 Boston Manufacturing Company, 204 Boulton, Matthew, 124, 147; and steam engines, 3, 6, 155 Bowdoin, James, 128, 132 Brandywine, Pa., 152 Brandywine Paper Mill, 153 Bray, Thomas, 23 Brown, Moses, 165-66 Browne, Peter A., 193 Brunel, Marc Isambard, 177-78 Buchan, Earl of, 72 Buell, Abel, 26, 116 Burden, Henry, 204 Button production, 152 Cabot, George, 129-30, 130 Cabot, John, 130 Canals, 56-57, 125, 156, 187, 208-9 See also Potomac Company Capitalism: and development of ownership of production, 7; erodes Republican opposition to patents, 193; rise of, 10, 16 Carey, Mathew, 86, 89, 96, 199 Carmichael, William, 123 Carroll, Charles, of Carrollton, 65, 107, 108 Castlereagh, Lord, 189, 195 Cayrol, E., 233 Charleston, S.C., 150 Chase, Samuel, 139 Chauncey, Elihu, 32-33 Child, Josiah, 55 Children: paid lower wages, 91-92, 160 Claxton, Timothy, 261 Clay, Henry, 190 Clegg, Edmund, 70-71, 235 Clinton, George, 95 Clymer, George, 96 Coercive Acts (1774), 37 Collinson, Peter, 48 Colt, Elisha, 116, 152 Commerce: Britain drains specie from U.S., 92; with British, 61, 71, 84, 89, 103, 110, 112, 113, 119, 135, 161, 199; Jefferson uses as weapon, 188; Jefferson wants improvement between U.S and France, 119; with Continent, 84-85; development of, 10; Franklin favors liberalizing, 61; calls for voluntary societies to improve, 93 Confederation: depression in, 96, 112; weakness of, 60-61, 81 See also Articles of Confederation; Congress, Continental Congress, Continental: lack of authority of hinders industrial development, 134; struggles to define intellectual property, 124-41; recommends that states grant copyrights, 125-27, 135; gives inventors western lands, 125; calls for voluntary societies to improve economy, 93; written to for assistance in immigrating, 122 Congress under the Constitution: disavows technology piracy, 148; split in between political parties, 158; and patents, 167-68; refuses to grant patents on importations, 168, 170, 171 Connecticut, 32; grants copyright, 125; poor quality of hat manufacturing in, 150-51; encourages manufactures, 127-28; issues patent, 133; subsidizes manufactures, 154; supports technology piracy, 130-31 See also Hartford Woolen Manufactory Constitution, U.S.: adoption of, 101; debate over ratification of, 139-40; immigration expected under, 134, 149-50; will encourage manufactures, 135-36; allows patents, 140-41, 166-67; and provision on useful arts, 147 Constitutional Convention: would create government friendly to manufactures, 135-36 Consumption: preference for British goods, 112; reduction advocated, 103; rise of, 61, 71, 84, 110, 222 See also Luxuries Cooper, Thomas, 190 Copyright: British authors not covered by American law, 126, 206; committee of Congress on, 12526; James Madison supports, 140; granted by Massachusetts, 32; distinction from patents, xx; state legislatures grant, 126; provision for in new Constitution, 136-37, 138-39 Cost and profit margins, 6-7 Cotton gin, xiii-xv Cotton manufactures, 46, 97, 131, 148-49, 155, 202 Coxe, Tench, 96; biography of, 184; on weakness of the Confederation, 134; smuggles in British machinery, 97, 124; portrait of, 98; as proponent of manufactures, 97-103, 138-39, 149-50, 155, 158-59, 160-61, 179, 184-85, 242; on patents to introducers, 170; responds to Sheffield, 113 Crabb, Benjamin, 33 Crevecoeur, Hector St John de, 41 Crocket, Benjamin, 105 Crystal Palace Exhibition (1857), 210 Cunningham, William, 30-31 Davies, Benjamin, 176 Deane, Silas, 84, 85, 87, 123, 131-32, 133 Delaware: grants copyright, 126 Delaware Society for Promoting Domestic Manufactures, 149 Delaware Society for the Encouragement and Promotion of Manufactories of America, 95 Demographics of U.S.: pamphlet by Franklin, 47, 55-56, 59, 60, 63, 74 See also Population Denmark, 23 Developing countries: and protection of intellectual property, xv-xvii Dewey, Joseph, 32 Dickinson, John, 91 Digges, Thomas Atwood, 116-17, 123, 143-47, 174; portrait of, 144 Domestic manufactures: in America, 26-27, 46-47, 82-83, 85, 89; Franklin favors growth of, 61-65; government should encourage, 190; part of patriotic struggle for freedom, 62 Douglas, James, 175 Duane, James, 95 Dulany, Daniel, 35 Dundas, Henry, 55 DuPont, Irenee E., 152-53 Economic warfare: used by Americans against British, 62, 188 Edemsor, Thomas, 78, 79 Eden, William, 110 Education: Americans obtain in Europe, 28, 222 Edwards, Charles, 233 Emigrant Club, 68-71, 76 Encyclopedia, 15-16 England See Great Britain Engels, Friedrich, 217 Erie Canal, 208-9 Europe: Americans obtain education in, 28, 222; commerce with U.S., 84-85; growth of mercantilism in, 11-12; geographic mobility in increased, 16-17; intellectual superiority of over U.S., 206-7; manufacturers in warned of difficulties in America, 44-45; quality of manufactures of, 28-29; peace in during 18th century, 16; technology of shared with U.S., 207; attempts technology piracy, 9, 12, 13, 14 See also Commerce; France; Great Britain Evans, Cadwalader, 62 Evans, Oliver, 83, 208 Fessenden, Thomas, 190 Fielding, Joseph, 122 Fitch, John, 87, 132-33, 138, 167 Fletcher, George, 21 Fox, Charles James, 110 France: academies founded in, 15; commerce with U.S., 119; compensates introducers, 2; demand for U.S agriculture produce rises during French Revolution, 148; and French Revolution, 175; gunpowder technology from imported into U.S., 152-53; harmful effects of immigration to Britain from, 54; immigrants from want U.S assistance, 236; grants patent monopolies, 4; patent law (1791), 4; recruits American artisans, 152; and technology piracy, 13, 225-26; worsening relations with U.S., 187-88 Franklin, Benjamin, 45; advocates Association for the Promotion of Knowledge, 49; alarmed by number of German immigrants into Pennsylvania, 59; appointed commerce agent, 65; committed to increasing human happiness, 227; demographic pamphlet by, 47, 55-56, 59, 60, 63, 74; on European medical education, 222; favors emancipation of slaves, 231; favors growth of domestic manufacturing, 61-65; advocates open policy on technology, 45-46, 47-48, 48-50, 52, 57-58, 64, 65, 75-77; opposes British restrictions on immigration, 75; defense of Americans against charge of inferiority, 59-60; response of to Iron Act, 47; patents taken out on his inventions, 50; preference of for white people, 47, 59; as proponent of manufactures, 138-39; and immigrants to America, 44-45, 56-58, 60, 66-74, 75, 106; as a scientist and innovator, 72; and American opposition to Stamp Act, 59, 60; as symbol of American nation and culture, 57-58; promotes voluntary societies, 94, 96 Franklin, James, 46 Franklin, William, 47 Franklin Institute, 206 Free communications: furthers knowledge, 14-15 Freneau, Phillip, 168 Fuel: Americans exploit recklessly, 27 See also Steam power Waterpower Fulton, Robert, 187, 208 Gage, Thomas, 34 Gale, Benjamin, 94 Gallatin, Albert, 180-81, 186 George III, 60, 231 Germantown Society for Promoting Domestic Manufactures, 150 Germany: glass-makers from emigrate to America, 104-9; immigration from to America, 53, 59 Geyer, Frederick William, 133-34 Gibbons v Ogden (1824), 194 Gilmer, Francis, 206, 265 Gilpin, Joshua, 153 Glass manufacturing, 10, 31, 32, 67, 104-9, 151, 203, 236 Grayson, William, 134 Great Britain: Americans prefer manufactures from, 112; colonies import manufactured goods from, 33, 48; commerce of drains specie from U.S., 92; compensates introducers, 2; and commerce with U.S., 61, 71, 84, 89, 103, 110, 112, 113, 119, 135, 161, 189; Congress splits over policy toward, 158; development of manufacturing in, 10-11, 37; encourages immigration from Continent, 14, 54; encourages technology piracy, 14; friendly exchange of technology with U.S., 208; grants temporary monopolies, 2; not threatened by American home manufactures, 46-47; higher standard of living than Continent, 83-84; industrialization coincides with greatness of, 10-11; inequality of life in, 37; immigrants to awarded patents, 8-10; immigration to colonies of skilled artisans and mechanics restricted, 18, 24-25, 33-34, 53-54, 55, 69, 70-71, 75, 113-14, 118, 154, 165, 179, 195-98, 200; Parliament licenses machine exports, 209; and protection of technology, 10, 12-13; relationship of with American colonies, 18-26, 53-55, 101; restricts development of manufactures in America, 34-43, 101; as technological leader, 83-84; as target of technology piracy, 13-14; use of Welsh workers, 10; worsening relations with U.S., 187-88 Greek and Roman law, Grenville, Lord, 174 Grossett, Charles, 73-74 Grove, Thomas, 19 Guillotin, Joseph, 75 Gunpowder technology, 152-53 Hague, Joseph, 39, 79-80, 82, 128, 141 Hamelin, Jabez, 32-33 Hamilton, Alexander, 155, 166, 174, 180; effort of to recruit artisans, 162-63; favors patents, 168; opposes anti-British policy, 159, 177-78; and Report on Manufactures, 145, 150, 159-61, 162, 163-64, 170, 173-74, 176, 181-82 Hargreave, James, 53 Hartford Woolen Manufactory, 131, 152, 154, 157 Hat Act (1732), 24, 25 Hat manufacturing, 150-51 Hasenclever, Peter, 29 Hewson, John, 41-42, 57, 58, 141, 229 Heyman, Herman, 106 Higginson, Henry, 130 Higley, Samuel, 32 Hillsborough, Earl of, 54, 56 Hinsdale, Daniel, 131 Holditch, Robert, 198 Holland, 23, 212 Holroyd, John Baker, Earl of Sheffield, 110, 111-12, 115 Home industry See Domestic manufactures House of Representatives, U.S., 167 See also Congress under Constitution Howell, Thomas, 171-73 Humphreys, David, 192 Hughes, James, 75, 111 Immigration: Americans oppose attempts to restrict, 37; Americans violate British laws prohibiting, 156; weakness of Articles of Confederation hinders, 134; awarded patents in England, 8-10; artisans demand higher wages, 28; benefits from of artisans, 41, 137, 203-4; Britain encourages to American colonies, 23; will change American society, 112-13; new Constitution should encourage, 134, 149-50; contaminating English-ness of colonies, 47, 59; Britain forbids naturalization of immigrants to colonies from Europe, 55; encouraged, 143-47, 151, 185, 200, 227-28; encouraged by Britain from Continent, 14, 54; encouraged by Hamilton’s Report on Manufactures, 145, 176; should be encouraged, 135; as extension of British internal mobility, 223; European governments attempt to stem, 52, 54; expands, 189; European immigrants want assistance from U.S., 45, 58, 121-22; Franklin advises and encourages immigrants, 44-45, 56-58, 60, 66-74, 75; French Revolution stimulates from Britain, 175, 176-77, 178; as humanitarian gesture, 92; inducements for, 8, 17, 32, 81, 90-91, 104-9, 158, 179; inducements from private sector stops, 179; to Ireland, 13; will need manufacturing jobs, 99; as a natural right, 56; Massachusetts stops bounty for, 179; leaving New England, 111; need for in America, 88-89, 92, 175; peace stimulates, 72-73; centers in Philadelphia, 97; recruitment of, 13, 30-31, 35, 89-90, 93, 96, 107, 116-17, 143, 152, 162-63; Britain restricts to America, 18, 24-25, 33-34, 53-56, 69, 70-71, 72, 75, 111-12, 113-14, 115-16, 117, 118, 145, 146, 154, 158, 165, 174-75, 179, 189, 190, 195-98, 200; private Americans encourage, 123, 129; reasons for, 197; unemployed in England will come to America, 112; as source of U.S intellectual property, xvii, xxi, 13; Americans encourage but offer no subsidy, 74, 120, 122-23; state legislatures encourage, 132; swells American population, 72; movement west hurts Massachusetts, 130; U.S should encourage, 160-62, 166, 167; U.S retreats from encouragement of, 178-80, 182-83; voluntary nature of, 223 Indentured servants, 30-31 Industrial Revolution, 16; brings higher standard of living, 84; importance of technology to, 10 See also Machinery Manufactures; Technology Industrialization: in Britain, 10-11, 37; growth of, 16; of U.S., 209, 213-14 Integrated factory, 202-3 Intellectual property: Congress attempts to define, 124-41; defined, xvii-xviii, 4-5; Madison favors protecting, 139; origins of, 1; protection of in developing countries, xv-xvii; protection of by European countries, 10 See also Copyrights Patents International agreements: needed to protect intellectual property across borders, xviii International Conference on Intellectual Property Rights (1878), International Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Introducers: awarded patents, 32-33, 167; get awards, 80, 127-28, 137-38; federal judges rule against patents for, 193; state judges rule against, 194; new Constitution allows patents of importation, 140-41; must obtain patents from states, 127, 132, 133, 193-94; should receive patents, 190, 192; U.S should grant land to, 160-62, 168, 170; not to receive patents, 168, 170, 171 See also Inventors Inventions: Franklin refuses to profit from, 49-50, 50-51; dependent on previous knowledge, 3; as form of property, Inventors: American colonies don’t differentiate with introducers, 21, 32; to receive awards, 137-38; animosity of Congress toward, 51-52; Congress awards western lands, 125, 160-62; to receive patents, 167-68; must obtain patents from states, 127, 132, 133; patents not awarded to, 32; rights of violated by colonial governments, 31; special benefits for in new Constitution, 136; versus introducers, 8-9 Iredell, James, 140 Ireland, 90, 101; British restrict immigration from, 114, 116, 117; Thomas Digges’s activities in, 143, 145; immigration to from Britain, 1; immigrants to U.S from, 234; fines for export of machinery from, 114 Iron Act (1750), 24, 25, 47 Iron manufacturing, 41, 42, 88, 149 Izard, Ralph, 125-26 Jackson, Andrew, 195 Jackson, Humphrey, 14 Jay, John, 42, 95, 119 Jefferson, Thomas, 155, 156, 205, 206; champions agriculture, 184, 187, 205; proposes discrimination against British commerce, 158, 159; wants improved commerce with France, 119; and Thomas Howell’s proposal, 172; and German glass makers, 107; disagrees with Hamilton’s Report on Manufactures, 181-82; assists immigration, 116-17, 122-23, 124; opposes industrialization, 119-21; favors manufacturing, 159, 180, 205, 246; opposes monopolies in all cases, 140; pamphlet of, 37; on patents, 140, 168; praises steam engine, 124; promotes technology piracy, 123; technology policy of as president, 185-91; and University of Virginia, 206 Jenkinson, William, 110 Jenks, Joseph, 21 Johnson, John, Jones, Robert Styrettel, 41 Judiciary: and patents, xviii, 5, 192-94 Kaighan, John, 102-3 Kent, James, 194 King, Rufus, 207 Kunders, Milan, ix Labor: shortage and high cost of in America, 33, 34, 48, 88-89, 91, 97, 111, 112, 119, 120, 135, 150, 151, 160, 171-73, 197 Lacour, 236 Lang, William, 141 Lee, Arthur, 95 Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm, 14, 219 Leonard, James, 129-30 Leslie, Robert, 102 Liardet v Johnson, Liardet, John, Linen, 36, 41, 42 Litigation in patent cases, Livingston, Robert R., 119, 192 Livingston v Van Ingen (1812), 194 Locke, John, 3-4 Logan, George, 180 Lombe, Sir Thomas, 167 London Royal Society of Arts, 15, 93-94 Lotteries: support technology piracy, 131 Lowell, Francis Cabot, 201-2, 203, 204 Lowell, Mass., 201, 204 Lucena, James, 33 Luxuries: American desire for, 71, 85-86; criticism of consumption of, 35, 38, 224 McCormick, William, 122 Machinery: benefits of from importing, 138; difficulty of importing from Britain, 87-88; American effort to acquire British, 96-97, 100; British restrict exportation of, 55, 57, 69, 70-71, 75, 113-14, 118, 174-75, 195-98; encouragement of importing, 151, 185; countries resist export of, 162; brought to America from Britain, 78-80, 97, 99; northeastern U.S as center of innovation in, 210; Parliamentary licensing of, 209; British ease restrictions on export of, 211-12 McIntosh, William, 131, 154 McKean, Thomas, 139 Madison, James: on congressional copyright committee, 125-26, 135; in Constitutional Convention, 136; favors protection of intellectual property, 139; proposes discrimination against British commerce, 158-59; favors manufactures, 159, 188; opposes patents for introducers, 170; supports patents and copyrights, 140; and technology piracy, 158-59; authors Virginia’s copyright act, 13536 Madison, Rev James, 124 Manion, Dennis, 196-97 Mansel, Robert, 217 Manufactures: as complementary to American agriculture, 62-63, 91; weakness of Articles of Confederation hinders development of, 134-35; vying with agriculture for laborers, 91; American diplomats favor developing, 121; Americans encourage use of their own, 37-39, 86, 180; Americans will produce if European countries will not trade with, 119; benefits of, 132; British flood U.S with, 199; British oppose exporting of, 195-98; Britain restricts development of in colonies, 34-43, 46-47; new Constitution will encourage, 135-36; Tench Coxe espouses, 97-103, 138-39, 149-50, 155, 158-59, 160-61, 179, 184-85, 242; and democracy, 205-6; difference between U.S and British, 208; development of, 11, 45; difficulties of developing in America, 2930, 38, 90, 91, 111; as duty of private and public sectors, 92; encouragement of will free U.S from British control, 135, 190; English superiority of, 62, 83-84, 85; ethical inferiority of to agriculture, 63; European manufacturers warned about difficulties in U.S., 44-45; Franklin advocates open policy on transfer of technology, 45-46, 47-50, 52, 57-58, 64, 65, 75-77; Franklin espouses, 13839; growth of in U.S., 188; growth of predicted to cement American union, 61-65; and Hamilton’s Report on Manufactures, 145, 150, 159-61, 162-64, 170, 173-74, 176, 181-82; high wages for in America, 89-90; improvement of American, 83; require landless poor, 63, 64; praise of American, 35; as premier national task, 96; America needs to prosper, 62, 160; Americans prefer English, 112; purchased by Americans, 27, 38; quality of European, 28-29; formation of societies to encourage, 38, 93; U.S should encourage, 190; transforms society, 204-6; Washington administration supports, 156-57 See also Technology piracy Marshall, Thomas, 176 Mason, George, 136, 139 Marx, Karl, 7, 217 Maryland: issues patent, 133 Massachusetts, 19; Bodies of Liberties, 20; glass manufacturing in, 151; grants copyrights, 32; encourages manufactures, 20-21, 38, 127-28; grants patents, 20-21, 33, 123; supports technology piracy, 128-30, 131; textiles manufacturing in, 151 Massachusetts Association for the Encouragement of Useful Inventions, 190-91 Masters, Thomas, 21 Matlack, Timothy, 39 Maudlslay, Henry, 178 Mease, James, 189 Mechanics See Artisans Medical training, 28, 222 Mercantilism: and British attempts to limit immigration into America, 53-54; and patents in colonial America, 127; philosophy of, 11-12, 24-25, 26; principles of challenged, 36; advocated by Lord Sheffield, 110; U.S abandons policy of, 163-64 Miles, Samuel, 96 Miller, Phineas, xiv Mills: development of in America colonies, 23-24; European leaders in technology of, 23; paper, 203 Milne, James, 73 Mitchell, Andrew, 102, 124 Monopolies: granting encourages innovation, 5-6; and debate over ratifying new Constitution, 13940; grants of temporary, 2, 132; Statute of, 217 Moody, Paul, 201-2 Morgan, John, 91 Morris, Robert, 84 Morris v Huntington (1824), 194 Munitions industry, 42, 152-53, 208 Nails, 83 Nation states: creation of, Napoleon, 188 Natural resources: abundance of in America, 27, 151 Natural rights, 3-4; immigration as, 56 Navigation Acts, 24, 35 See also Commerce Newberry, Roger, 163 Newburyport, Mass., 154-55, 179 Newcomen, Thomas, 87; Newcomen engine, 207 Newenham, Sir Edward, 67-68 New Haven, Conn., xiii, xiv, 152, 154 New Jersey: issues patent, 133 New York: encourages manufactures, 127-28; issues patent, 133 New York Society for Promoting Useful Knowledge, 95 Niles, Hezekiah, 189 North America: Britain encourages immigration of artisans to, 23; Britain encourages technology piracy to from Europe, 23; Britain limits economic development of, 18-19, 24-26; colonization of, 19, 30-31, 32; colonial governments encourage manufactures, 20-21; difficulty of developing manufactures in, 29-30; diversity and disunity of, 61; praise of manufactures in, 35; purchase manufactured goods, 27-28, 29; development of mills in, 23-24; abundance of natural resources, 27; labor shortage in, 33, 34, 48; British manufactures could not fully supply, 48; and issuance of patents, 20-21, 32; population increase in, 47, 48; potash and shipbuilding encouraged in, 25; standard of living in, 27-28 North Carolina: enacts copyright law, 126; issues patent, 133 Norwich, Conn., 152 Noyes, John, 123 Ogden, Samuel, 199-200 Orr, Hugh, 130, 131 Otis, James, 224 Owen, Robert, 114 Paine, Thomas, 41, 126 Paper mills, 203 Parkinson, George, 155, 166, 170 Parkinson, Richard, 196 Patents, 209; American colonies use British policy for, 115, 127; capitalism erodes Republican opposition to, 193; contents of applications for, 5-6; Congress not authorized to issue, 127, 132-33; Congress proposes, 167-68; provision for in new Constitution, 136-37, 138-39; and courts, 19294; Coxe advocates granting by federal government, 100; difficulty of copying information from, 86; distinction from copyright, xx; fees for, 263; foreign nationals not given by U.S., 209; issued by American colonial governments, 20-21, 26, 32, 115, 127; Franklin criticizes practice of granting, 48; French law (1791), 4; Holland repeals laws for, 212; increase of number of under Jefferson administration, 188; Madison supports, 140; no international agreement on enforcement of, 212-13; not awarded to inventors by American colonies, 32; selling and leasing rights to, 7; U.S laws (1790 and 1793), 168-70 182-83, 190-91; litigation over, xviii, 5; monopoly system justified, 3-4; passage of, xv; and Patent Office, 182, 193, 204; states grant, 127, 132, 133; U.S should grant to introducers, 161, 190, 192; U.S should not grant to introducers, 168, 170, 171 Peabody, George, 211 Pearce, William, 143-44, 155, 166 Penn, William, 20 Pennsylvania: encourages manufactures, 20-21, 32, 39, 127-28; issues patents, 128, 133; supports technology piracy, 128 Pennsylvania Society for the Encouragement of Manufactures and the Useful Arts, 79, 95-96, 128, 141, 158, 166, 184-85, 200-201 Perkins, Jacob, 207-8, 208 Peterson, Samuel, 145, 174 Philadelphia: as manufacturing center, 97; and federal procession, 97, 141 Phillips, Benjamin H., 78 Philpot, Thomas, 117 Pinckney, Charles, 136 Pinckney, William, 188 Poetry, 177 Pollard, William, 114, 155, 166 Population: loss to British countryside, 54-56; British Population Bill (1800), 228; Franklin’s pamphlet on demography, 47, 55-56, 59, 60; increases in Europe, 16-17; growth of in America, 47, 48, 62, 72, 81, 181 Potomac Company, 125, 157 Potash, 25 Pownall, Thomas, 72 Printing: importance in preserving knowledge, 52; presses, 26, 46 Providence Association of Mechanics and Manufactures, 177 Radclif, William, 175 Railroads, 201 Ramsay, David, 39 Randolph, Beverly, 172-73 Randolph, Edmund, 172 Rees, Abraham, 206 Renaissance, 2, Republican ideology: opposes industrialization, 35, 52, 119-21; opposition of to patents eroded by capitalism, 193; rhetoric of, 119-20 Revere, Paul, 123 Rhode Island, 33, 165 Rhode Island Manufactures Society, 177 Rhode Island Society for the Encouragement of Domestic Industry, 201 Rickman, Thomas Clio, 175 Rittenhouse, David, 38, 85 Rochon, Abbe, 76 Royale, Henry, 68, 78, 79, 80, 235 Rumsey, James, 76, 87, 125, 132-33, 138, 157 Rumseyan Society, 76 Rush, Benjamin, 96; encourages American manufacturing, 38-39, 90, 92, 138; on down trodden condition of workers, 233; portrait of, 40; and production of saltpeter, 42; on shared knowledge, 241 Russia, 13 Saltpeter, 42 Science: and Scientific Revolution, 15; distinction between technology, 50 Schofield, John and Arthur, 154-55, 179 Sebor, Jacob, 133 Sedgwick, Theodore, 109 Sellers, Nathan, 83 Senate, U.S., 167-68 See also Congress under Constitution Seybert, Adam, 191 Shamrock Society of New York, 200 Shelburne, Lord, 110 Shipbuilding, 25 Silk Society, 95 Skinner, Ichabad Lord, 205 Slater, Samuel, 164-66, 205 Slavery: impact of cotton gin on, xiii; Franklin favors emancipation, 231; proposal to import into America, 73; slaves to be emancipated, 171-73 Smith, Adam, 12, 35 Smith, William, 115-16 Smith, William Loughton, 109 Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures (Paterson, N.J.), 162, 163, 166, 170-71, 176, 180, 256 Society for the Encouragement of Manufactures (N.Y.), 256, 262 Society for the Promotion of Arts, Agriculture and Economy (N.Y.), 35-36 Somers, Thomas, 129-30 South Carolina, 152 Stamp Act (1765), 35, 54, 59, 60 State legislatures: grant copyrights, 125-26, 127, 133; grant patents, 132 Steamboats, 132, 138, 157, 167 Steam engine, 3, 6, 87, 133, 155, 167 Steam power, 86-87, 221 Stockport group, 80 Story, Joseph, 194, 205 Strutt, Jedediah, 164-65 Sugar Act (1764), 37 Sweden, 13 Swindell, John, 71 Tariff: Jefferson opposes, 186; after War of 1812, 199 Taylor, Jesse, 68 Technology: defined, xvii-xviii, xix-xx; differs from science, 50; exchanged between U.S and Europe, 207, 208; international accumulation of, 85; voluntary associations for acquiring, 93-103 See also Machinery Manufactures Technology piracy: advocated in America, 96-97, 99, 100, 102, 104-9, 158; in early America, xviii, 35; America violates British laws concerning, 156; definition of, 215; encouraged by Americans abroad, 143-47; British cannot stop, 222; British opposition to American piracy, 173, 195-98; encouraged by Continental European governments, 9, 12, 13; American courts rule against, 194; by Thomas Digges, 143-47; encouraged by Great Britain, 9, 14; Britain target of, 13-14, 84, 86, 191, 201; and Alexander Hamilton, 145, 176; lotteries used to support, 131; persists despite U.S Patent Act language, 169; promoted by Adams and Jefferson, 123, 143; protection against, 10, 12-13; states support, 128, 128-30, 130-31; tradition of, xv; U.S won’t sponsor, 123, 148, 171; U.S government supports, 156-64, 166, 191, 192; and Washington administration, 147-48, 157, 171 Terminology, Textiles, 199-200, 227; English lead technologically, 83; factories for in America, 97, 129-30, 151, 153-55, 188-89; Lowell, Mass., 201, 204; piracy of technology advocated, 102, 147; prohibition of exportation of machinery for, 36; retarded development of in America, 26; premiums offered to encourage, 36; U.S government should encourage importation of machinery for, 163 Thomson, Charles, 74, 122 Thornton, William, 169, 192 Tocqueville, Alexis de, 206, 209-10 Torpedoes, 208 Townshend Revenue Act (1767), 61 Tully, Christopher, 39 Union: danger to in U.S., 60-61 United Company of Philadelphia for Promoting American Manufactures, 38-39, 95, 97 Urbanization, 16 Venice, 10 Vergennes, Comte de, 13 Virginia, 171-73; copyright act of, 135-36; issues patents, 21, 133 Virginia Society for Promoting Useful Knowledge, 95 Voltaire, 216 Voluntary associations for acquiring technology, 93-103, 200 Wadsworth, Jeremiah, 116 Wallace, Robert, 54 Wansey, Henry, 156, 225 War of 1812, 188-90; aftermath of, 195, 198-99 Washington, Bushrod, 193 Washington, George: administration’s goal, 156-57; administration’s technology piracy, 147-48, 157, 167, 171-73; and Thomas Digges, 145-46, 174; and German glass makers, 107; favors manufactures, 148-49, 155-56, 157, 166, 167; favors patents, 168; as president tours New England, 157; and James Rumsey, 125; toasts American woolens, 154, 157 Washington, Martha, 155 Waterpower: abundant in America, 27; development of, 122, 221 Watt, James: and steam engines, 3, 6, 86-87, 124, 133-34, 155 Webster, Daniel, 204 Webster, Noah, 126-27 Wells, Richard, 255 West Indies: British restrict American trade with, 119, 158 Wetherell, Samuel, 88, 96 White, Elisha and Robert, 36 White, George, 205 White, Richard, 66-67, 67 Whitney, Eli, xiii-xv, 208 Whittemore, Amos, 178, 207 Williamson, Hugh, 39, 41, 85-86; on copyright committee of Congress, 125-26; on patent committee in Congress, 168, 170 Winslow, Samuel, 20-21 Winthrop, John Jr., 21 Wolcott, Oliver, 125 Women: and domestic manufactures, 26-27, 41; paid lower wages, 91-92, 160; employed in textile factories, 97 Wood burning stove, 49, 51 Wool Act (1699), 24, 25 Woolen manufacturing, 41, 42, 131, 149, 153-55, 171, 179, 219, 225 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), xvi Wyld, Henry, 69-70, 117, 120, 121, 122-23, 124, 235 Yankee: term of, xv ... because of the widespread belief in the superiority of continental technology and the desire to replace imports and correct the balance of trade the premier barometer of the strength of nations in the. .. the mode of production and the cultural and legal embrace of the absolute right of property transformed the economy and society of Europe and its satellites The structure of local economies and. . .Trade Secrets Trade Secrets: Intellectual Piracy and the Origins of American Industrial Power Doron S Ben-Atar Published with assistance from the Annie Burr Lewis Fund