ABSTRACT
The history of patents, however, is noted by its periods of silence. It remains a patchwork of discussions, often about similar matters. While the form and nature of private legislation will be discussed in this chapter, it is an Act of Parliament which creates a special rule for an individual – an exception to general regulation. This discussion looks at private legislation, or more precisely individual private petitions, Bills and Acts, and to the extent possible it seeks to establish whether, or at least the extent to which, private legislation shaped the general law of patents. This introduction also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores private Acts which actually protected the invention itself, in other words, where the person went to Parliament to protect his or her invention. It looks at the closely related areas of Parliamentary rewards.
