Patents, War and Peace. The resilience of the international patent order through the First World War

By the end of the 19th century, an international order had emerged for patents, allowing business actors to use patents in many countries concurrently, and thus supporting a new phase in the development of industrial capitalism. Centered on Europe in spite of a universalistic discourse and important transatlantic connections, this international order was shaken by the outbreak of the First World War. Indeed, patents were impacted by provisions of economic warfare. These measures, although similar in their principle in all warring countries, were however executed to a varying degree, depending on the extent of economic dependence or fear of retaliation. These differences also manifested during the negotiation of the Treaty of Versailles, the analysis of which contradicts the idea of a general expropriation of German patents. Thus escaping disintegration, the international patent order was afterwards progressively restored on its pre-1914 foundations.