ABSTRACT
The relationship between corporations, patents and private Bills is a long and varied one. It can be divided into three phases. In the early period, monopolies were granted to regulated companies, including guilds, to regulate entire industries. The second phase began with the passage of the "Bubble Act" in 1720 when joint stock companies became pariahs and almost contemporaneously a restriction was introduced to restrict joint ownership of patents to five individuals. The final phase begins with the repeal of the Bubble Act in 1825 when joint stock companies became an accepted part of business – but the restriction on patent ownership remained. The passage of the Statute of Monopolies can be divided into two parts. The first part is the Parliament of 1621 where debates on the general regulation of monopolies were debated alongside the Parliamentary prosecution of Mompesson. The second part is the Parliament of 1624 when the Statute was actually enacted.
