Stark, JF and Gooday, GJN (2014) Patents and publics: Engaging museum audiences with issues of ownership and invention. Museum and Society, 12 (2). 104 - 117. ISSN 1362-6329
Abstract
It is all very well to note the hyperbole about patents and ‘intellectual property’ in the recent battles between technology companies such as Apple, Samsung and HTC. But how can museums productively use collection items marked with a patent beyond workaday tasks of identification and cataloguing? We argue that information on patents can enhance visitors’ critical engagement with museum displays; complex ownership claims and counter-claims in patent disputes can underpin lively narratives based around museum objects. Asking why some objects and not others were patented, and how historical consumers responded to that status of ‘patented’ enables us to look at these objects afresh. In particular we analyse the responses of public consultation groups to patenting in the medical trade, as well as the engagement of museum staff with these issues. Such consultation processes offer information that can be used to enhance museum displays with engaging narratives of ownership and invention.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2014, James Stark, Graeme Gooday. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Museum and Society. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy |
Keywords: | Patent; invention; intellectual property; ownership; objects |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 24 Feb 2015 11:30 |
Last Modified: | 30 Jan 2018 06:00 |
Published Version: | http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/museumstudies/mus... |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | University of Leicester |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:83096 |