‘But a New Button to an Old Coat’: The Enactment of the Statute of Monopolies, 21 James I cap.3

Abstract

The Monopolies Act of 1624 is the founding statute of copyright and patent law in the English-speaking Western world. Based upon the famous legal cases of John the Dyer and Darcy v. Allen, as well as the King's Book of Bounty, the Act has been seen as a symbol of the increasing power of a Parliament locked in a constitutional struggle with King James. This article argues that far from being a case of conflict between the monarch and the House of Commons, the Monopolies Act received the imprimatur of both the King and Commons against the wishes of powerful interests in the Lords. It concludes by stating that the significance of 21 James I cap.3 lies not only in its limitation on monopolies but that its enactment illustrates the close co-operation between the King and Commons.