Patently peculiar: Patents and innovation in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands

We study the patent system of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815–30), a post‐Napoleonic state which brought together an early industrializing region that subsequently became Belgium with a later‐industrializing one comprising what is now the Netherlands. The system formally distinguished between patents of invention and patents of importation, protecting both domestic inventions and the introduction of foreign technologies. It also granted administrators considerable discretion over patent fees, terms, and conditions. Using a new hand‐collected dataset covering all patent applications, including those granted, withdrawn, and rejected, we analyse application outcomes across sectors, regions, and patent types. We show that administrators systematically differentiated between patents of invention and importation in ways consistent with a technology policy that encouraged the domestic introduction of useful foreign technologies. We also find that administrative decisions reflected assessments of novelty, utility, and applicant characteristics, without evidence of systematic discrimination. Despite high fees, the system remained broadly accessible across social classes. Patents of invention were more commonly associated with technically skilled inventors, whereas patents of importation were more often sought by commercially oriented applicants. Overall, the regime combined accessibility with substantive screening and illustrates how discretionary patent administration could support technology transfer during a formative period of industrialization.