Owning Ideas: A History of Anglo-American Intellectual Property

The dissertation is a comprehensive survey of the development of the modern concepts and practices of intellectual property in England and the United-States. It covers the two major fields of patents and copyright. The survey begins with the early origins of these fields in seventeenth century England. The English part ends at the end of the eighteenth century. The American part begins in colonial times and focuses on the important formative era of the nineteenth century.

The full text of the dissertation is available here. I welcome comments and inquiries at obracha@law.utexas.edu