Talk:Rifled breech loader

The page says that Broadwell "...patented his invention in 1861, later perfecting it in 1864 and 1866; most countries paid royalties to Broadwell for the design, but in Germany the Krupp company stole it and used it for free"

I believe this is untrue and unfair. [There was no patent law in Germany until 1877](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780444516084500043), so residents of Germany, and German companies operating in Germany, were not bound by it and did not 'steal' anything. It's relevant to this discussion that Unification of Germany was not complete until 1871; but as I understand it none of the preceding states recognised patent law. In particular, the Krupp factory was founded when Essen was essentially a quasi-independent city state governed by Essen Abbey, although at the time (Napoleonic wars) it was under the protection of Berg; it had been absorbed into Prussia by the 1860s.

There's a [contemporary article in Scientific American](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/patent-law-of-prussia/) which might be useful, but it is paywalled and I have not read it.

I think it would be more accurate to say "...patented his invention in 1861, later perfecting it in 1864 and 1866; most countries paid royalties to Broadwell for the design, but as in Germany there was at that date no patent law, the Krupp company used the design without paying royalty."

I assume that this led to diplomatic controversy and that that controversy contributed to the pressure which led Germany to later adopt reciprocal patent law, but without further research I don't know that to be true. — Preceding unsigned comment added by SimonFaeStandingstone (talk • contribs) 07:57, 24 August 2025 (UTC)