Arkwright's patents are overturned
Litigation in 1785 struck down Arkwright's spinning and carding patents, on grounds including inadequate specification and prior art. The immediate consequence was that his machinery could be copied freely, and mill building in Lancashire, Derbyshire and Scotland accelerated sharply. The organisational model spread with the machines.
Historical — it happened, and the record is settled.
Subjects
- Richard Arkwright · person · United Kingdom · not located
- The water frame · technology · United Kingdom · not located
- The British textile industry · industry sector · United Kingdom · not located
Evidence
Partly verified — Core facts are sourced; some optional detail is deliberately absent.
Derwent Valley Mills, United Kingdom — World Heritage List
Supports the inscription of the Derwent valley mill complexes, including Cromford, as the place where the modern factory system was established. V55 verification basis: NOT consulted — whc.unesco.org was probed in this session and is blocked by the egress proxy. The inscription reference number and the criteria are deliberately omitted rather than reconstructed.
UNESCO World Heritage Centre · inscribed 2001 · Partly verified
UNESCO World Heritage List entry for Derwent Valley Mills, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (inscribed 2001)
Recorded on Richard Arkwright
Related
Related because they share a subject in the Atlas — never because the text looks similar.
- The Great Exhibition · 1 May – October 1851
- Cartwright patents the power loom · 1785
- The rotative engine turns a shaft · 1781–1782
- Crompton completes the spinning mule · 1779
- Cromford Mill begins spinning · 1771
- Arkwright patents the water frame · 1769
- Hargreaves devises the spinning jenny · c. 1764
- Parliament bans the use of printed calicoes · 1721