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Breakthrough innovations in aircraft and the intellectual property system, 1900-1975

Author

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  • David C. Mowery

    (Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley, USA)

Abstract

Modern commercial aircraft are complex products that incorporate innovations in technologies ranging from advanced materials to software and electronics. Although commercial aircraft assuredly qualify as a transformative innovation, in fact today's commercial aircraft are the result of a process of incremental innovation and improvement that dates back more than a century. A great many of these improvements and incremental innovations originated from government-supported R&D programs sponsored by the military services or government research laboratories. The adoption of commercial-aircraft innovations within many industrial economies, including the United States, also has been influenced by government regulation of air transportation. This paper provides a historical characterization of the innovation and record of technical progress in US commercial aircraft during the 1900-1975 period. It identifies the sources of support for innovation and technological adoption, and examines the origins and impacts of 'breakthrough innovations' on the overall evolution of the global commercial aircraft industry. The paper also assesses the role of patents in these important innovations.

Suggested Citation

  • David C. Mowery, 2015. "Breakthrough innovations in aircraft and the intellectual property system, 1900-1975," WIPO Economic Research Working Papers 25, World Intellectual Property Organization - Economics and Statistics Division.
    • Handle: RePEc:wip:wpaper:25
    as

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    File URL: http://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/wipo_pub_econstat_wp_25.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    2. Peter B. Meyer, 2013. "The Airplane as an Open-Source Invention," Revue économique, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 64(1), pages 115-132.
    3. John W. Kendrick, 1961. "Productivity Trends in the United States," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number kend61-1, October.
    4. N/A, 1985. "Research in Progress," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 38(3), pages 475-487, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Eunhee Sohn & Robert Seamans & Daniel B. Sands, 2024. "Technology adoption and innovation: The establishment of airmail and aviation innovation in the United States, 1918–1935," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(1), pages 3-35, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Innovation; airplane; intellectual property;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights
    • O34 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy
    • N7 - Economic History - - Economic History: Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, and Other Services

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