The patent system has always been considered to be in a delicate position in serving both the rights of inventors and the interests of the public. However, in examining the relationship between scientists and the patent system in Britain between 1860 and 1960, it appears neither the rights of inventors nor the interests of the public were foremost in the actual operation of the patent system. On the contrary, the empirical evidence gathered in this thesis suggests that the British patent system had actually become a conservative and self-serving system, perpetuating the interests of its own practitioners – patent agents, lawyers, and judges. The thesis illustrates how British chemists experienced consistent difficulty with the British patent system. The chemists’ patenting activity took place in the contexts of the emergence of the science-based chemical industry starting from the mid-nineteenth century characterised by the industrialisation and internationalisation of inventions, which consequently gave the patent system a key role in protecting the industry.

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