Page:On the economy of machinery and manufactures - Babbage - 1846.djvu/394

360 privilege for a term of years. Such monopolies are termed Patents; and they are granted, on the payment of certain fees, for different periods, from five to twenty years.

The following table, compiled from the Report of the Committee of the House of Commons "on Patents," 1829, shows the expense and duration of patents in various countries:

(433.) It is clearly of importance to preserve to each inventor the sole use of his invention, until he