That&#x27;s a very cynical and inaccurate appraisal of &quot;The Time Before Patents.&quot;<p>Most scientific breakthroughs throughout history were pursued due to simple curiosity or necessity, precisely because without an international framework of patent law &quot;patents&quot; and the pursuit of technology as intellectual property directly for financial gain was impossible.<p>The British for example attempted to control physical access to textile IP but Samuel Slater[1] memorized as much as he could and &quot;exported it&quot; along with himself to the Americas to reap a fortune.<p>[1]<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Samuel_Slater" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Samuel_Slater</a>