“A poor man invented and patented the making of ‘cock-spurs’ (supports for dishes and plates while submitted to furnace heat) by means of dies, and established a small business upon the manufacture. Some years later a gentleman improved upon the invention so far as to make the cock-spurs 500 at a time instead of singly. The earlier Patent being brought to his notice, he desired to make terms with the original inventor, and offered him a liberal sum, together with the sole right to sell the new manufacture in his own locality (the potteries). He could not, however, be brought to accept these, or indeed any terms; but, contrary to advice, commenced an action for the infringement, and was cast by reason of an unimportant claim in his specification being untenable.” As a preventive of this abuse, and almost as a _sine quâ non_ in the Patent system, “compulsory licences” have been proposed (see the proceedings of the Social Science Association, 1858, 1860, ’61, ’62, ’63, ’64), but the Royal Commission has reported against them as impracticable. No wonder, then, that it is said the system hurts inventors themselves, even those inventors who are patentees:— “Nothing could work greater injustice _qua_ the inventors themselves than the present Patent-Law does. Many most meritorious inventors under the present Patent-Law are utterly ruined, enrich others, and never pocket a farthing themselves; therefore the present law is as unjust as a law can be in its practical working.” Listen to the elder Brunel:— “Almost invariably when the Patents come before the public, the beneficial interest in them is not held, to any great extent, by the original inventor, but that it has changed hands many times before it comes out before the public. I should say that, in the majority of cases, the original inventor gets little or nothing. In most cases the original inventor has a very small beneficial interest left in it, and in most cases I doubt whether, even in Patents that are saleable, he is much the gainer on the whole, taking into account his previous loss of time and money.” Sir W. Armstrong points out how, and how much, poor inventors suffer:— “I have every week letters from inventors, and I dare say you have the same; I have scores of them. Poor men very often come to me imagining that they have made some great discovery. It is generally all moonshine, or, if it looks feasible, it is impossible to pronounce upon its value until it has passed through that stage of preliminary investigation which involves all the labour, and all the difficulty, and all the trouble. Many a poor man is ruined by fancying he has made a discovery which, by means of a Patent, will bring him a fortune. He loses all relish for his usual pursuits, and sacrifices his earnings to a phantom.” Mr. Spence agrees:—