Scholarship mainly analyzes patent systems from a technological innovation perspective. This article sheds light on the social significance of patenting activity in modern Japan. Examining a set of patents granted in the initial years of a patenting system that was new to Japan gives nuance to understanding how Japanese society underwent industrialization, including regional differences. Challenging the image of the Japanese as passive recipients of foreign technology, this analysis of Japan's early patent system reveals widespread involvement in the patenting system at every level of society across the country. Patentees used patents proactively to create business opportunities, and the patent system offered urban business owners a new ladder to social and economic success.
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