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300 years of British patents

Author

Listed:
  • Berkes, Enrico
  • Chen, Matthew Lee
  • Tranchero, Matteo

Abstract

The study of innovation depends heavily on high-quality patent data. Yet, datasets containing complete patent documents focus only on recent decades, while historical patent datasets with broader temporal coverage typically lack detailed information. Therefore, our ability to leverage advances in textual analyses to study long-run innovation dynamics remains limited. To this end, we introduce a large-scale dataset of the universe of technical specifications of British patents granted between 1617–1899. Our data consists of the full specification texts alongside linked information about inventors, including their disambiguated names, occupations, and addresses. We use our data to document changes over time in total inventive activity, the geography of innovation, inventor occupations, and patent novelty and impact. Finally, we discuss use cases and avenues for subsequent research.

Suggested Citation

  • Berkes, Enrico & Chen, Matthew Lee & Tranchero, Matteo, 2026. "300 years of British patents," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(1).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:55:y:2026:i:1:s0048733325001763
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2025.105347
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bergeaud, Antonin & Nur Gozen, Ruveyda & Van Reenen, John, 2026. "Mapping Technological Trajectories: Evidence from Two Centuries of Patent Data," CEPR Discussion Papers 21066, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    2. Matt Marx & Dror Shvadron, 2026. "The i3 BigQuery Workspace: Shared Infrastructure for Open Science," NBER Chapters, in: Economics of Science, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O34 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital
    • N73 - Economic History - - Economic History: Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, and Other Services - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N43 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Europe: Pre-1913

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