ww2 captured aircraft patents

Once heard an interesting talk from a guy at the patents office in Newport. He claimed that German bomb fuses, being very clever, had been patented. EOD, or their equivalents of the time simply went to the patents office and consulted the drawings. Having said that he also had a story about and intelligent cat flap patent being turned down because walter the softy’s dog had been illustrated using one in an old issue of th Beano. If it’s been thought of before you can’t patent it.

I spy conspiracies, Merchants of Death. Vickers gun turrets, Krupp armour at Jutland on both sides; USSR beryllium in US/UK SSBNs; Merlin crankshafts turned on German machine tools.

International law clashes with noblesse oblige: who will boss the King: who/how to enforce? So: Skoda armour for KGV class, dried up in October,1938, contracts repudiated and supplies sequestered by the new landlord – stangman: “to the victor…”

The precise answer to victor45’s question must be that there was no “legal position” as no entity endured after May 8 1945 to assert beneficial rights in (say, Bf.109) Intellectual Property – not Bayerische F/Werk, nor the Reich Air Ministry, nor a Patent Registry, nor a State of Germany. It would be a matter of choice if the victors cared to link (Prof.W.Messerschmitt, or anyone) with royalties for Allies’ use of that Property. Or French CT-10 drone and V1, Redstone IRBM and V2, Me. P.1101 pivot and Bell X-5. The new Federal Republic of Germany could not inherit such good things, and not, say, the National Debt (the fallacy of separatist Nationalist notions).

So, what happens is that a case-by-case approach applies (Ha!) The victor does what he chooses to do/can get away with. See Jumo 004B and RD-10 (or B-29 and Tu-4). When (the former Allies) re-set up Italian, W.German and Japanese Aero (1953, context, Korea), any claim for, say, reliance in current US/UK revenues on 1934 Gottingen airfoil data, was offset in the deal for W.German enjoyment (I joke) of, say, M.A.N licence for Bristol Hercules.

I have heard similar , but totally unsubstantiated, stories of Messerschmitt paying Handley Page royalties throughout the war for use of the HP Slat on the Me 109.

Well, after the end of WW1, the US & UK paid Krupps back royalties on several shell fuze patents, and the US paid Mauser back royalties for the bolt design on the Springfield M1903.

Actually the US continued to pay royalties to Mauser throughout the war. The money went through a Swiss bank.

Surely ‘to the victor go the spoils’

most interesting thanks for the responses, its something i think many forget about in the heat of war etc, after all its cost millions to produce these war machines etc and why should the victors/goverments be allowed to profit from their confiscations not to mention saved development costs etc and not pay for the privilage,there again some would argue the expenditure of the winning side should be set against any reinbursments made for the capture and use of enemy equipment albeit. guns,planes ships etc etc.:cool: 😎 😎

Well, after the end of WW1, the US & UK paid Krupps back royalties on several shell fuze patents, and the US paid Mauser back royalties for the bolt design on the Springfield M1903.

Not exactly the same, but I remember reading about three years back that the German company who started making ‘jerricans’ was going to sue the British (Government I think or could have been a company) for making copies of them during WW2