A barrier to medical treatment? British medical practitioners, medical appliances and the patent controversy, 1870–1920

From the late nineteenth century onwards there emerged an increasingly diverse response to escalating patenting activity. Inventors were generally supportive of legislation that made patenting more accessible, while others, especially manufacturers, saw patenting culture as an impediment. The medica...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The British journal for the history of science 2016-12, Vol.49 (4), p.601-625
Main Author: JONES, CLAIRE L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accessibility
Barriers
Culture
Equipment and Supplies - history
Health Personnel - history
Health Personnel - psychology
History of medicine and histology
History, 19th Century
History, 20th Century
Inventions
Inventions - history
Inventors
Legislation
Medical device industry
Medical services
Medical treatment
Patents as Topic - history
Patents as Topic - legislation & jurisprudence
Physicians
Profession
Science history
United Kingdom
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Summary:From the late nineteenth century onwards there emerged an increasingly diverse response to escalating patenting activity. Inventors were generally supportive of legislation that made patenting more accessible, while others, especially manufacturers, saw patenting culture as an impediment. The medical profession claimed that patenting represented ‘a barrier to medical treatment’ and was thus detrimental to the nation's health, yet, as I argue, the profession's development of strict codes of conduct forbidding practitioners from patenting resulted in rebellion from some members, who increasingly sought protection for their inventions. Such polarized opinions within the medical trade continue to affect current medical practice today.
ISSN:0007-0874
1474-001X
DOI:10.1017/S000708741600114X