this alternative view is hard to reconcile with the large shift in patenting activity observed after 1474. as observed by allan gomme, former librarian of the uk patent office, "there was, then, a regular practice of granting patents in venice which began about 1475..". see also statistics, below. the majority view remains that the venetian patent statute marked a watershed moment and was indeed the first basis for a patent system, notwithstanding earlier isolated patents having been issued.