Decline in Aviation Patenting during World War I

Peter Meyer, Independent Scholar

Filings of aviation-related patents declined worldwide at the start of World War I, although it was a time when aviation research and development spending increased around the world. Using a database of aeronautical patents from 1880-1918, we can compare patenting rates across countries, technologies, time periods, and types of inventors. The patent decline was especially noticeable in France. There was also a drop in aeronautics-related publications during the war. A larger proportion of the inventors licensed their patents to firms than before the war. Overall, it appears that the main reason for the declines in patents and publications was that inventors and officials in the warring countries didn’t want patent specifications, which were public documents, to be seen by the other side.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 9. Labor and Technology