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Summary

Inventions and Official Secrecy traces the little known history of legislation which permits the British Government to prohibit the publication of certain technical ideas submitted as patent applications. The story begins in 1855, with the first recorded case of prohibition, and ends, as the thirty year rule demands, in the 1960s.

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Inventions and Official Secrecy by T H O'dell ; Emeritus Reader Electronics Engineer ; Emeritus Reader Imperial College London)

Secrets will always be a factor in the political life of any society, and it could be argued that none enjoy secrets, particularly Official Secrets, quite so much as the English. Inventions and Official Secrecy traces the little known history of UK legislation which permits the British Government to make Official Secrets of certain technical ideas submitted as patent applications, and thereby prohibit their publication. The story begins in the mid-nineteenth century, and introduces a number of interesting inventors, politicians, and civil servants, including Sir William Armstrong, Marconi, the Wright Brothers, Leo Szilard, Sir Barnes Wallis, Sir Christopher Cockerell, the Earl of Derby, Sir Harold Wilson, and the now forgotten civil servant Mr Clode, Solicitor to the War Office in the 1860s; it ends, as the thirty year rule demands, in the 1960s.
`it is both enjoyable reading and an accurate chronological account of the subject.. O'Dell's book fills a gap in the whole story of patents' Times Higher Education Supplement
`a scholarly work, recording the history of such a complex subject as patent legislation with full research of the relevant documents, which are referenced and carefully included unobtrusively in the text ... it is both enjoyable reading and an accurate chronological account of the subject ... O'Dell's book fills a gap in the whole story of patents' Times Higher Education Supplement
'an interesting book on a subject which is rarely given much time.' * E.I.P.R. *
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9780198259428
ISBN 10 0198259425
Title Inventions and Official Secrecy
Author T H O'dell ; Emeritus Reader Electronics Engineer ; Emeritus Reader Imperial College London)
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Hardback
Publisher Oxford University Press
Year published 1994-12-15
Number of pages 164
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.