'Generally inconvenient': the 1624 statue of monopolies as political compromise

The Statute of Monopolies 1624 Is central to one of the tests for patentability of inventions in the Patents Act 1990 (Cth). The continued reference to the statute, almost 400 years after it was enacted, accords it an almost idealised status within patent law. Such a status does not acknowledge the political context of its passage through the Jacobean Parliament. This anide addresses key aspects of the early modern period including economic depression, issues of succession, and the rivalry between the City of London and the outports - to argue that the Statute of Monopolies Is best seen as a compromise, a political deal done between the Crown, the House of Lords and the individuals and groups within the House of Commons.