Patent Hall

Hagen's primary claim to fame is the Patent Hall, where inventors come to register their inventions. To register a new device, the inventor must provide a working scale model, which then goes on permanent display. Once an invention is accepted and a patent certificate issued, the creator is technically granted the exclusive right to market the invention for 20 years. Yet this law is not well enforced in lands beyond Baroness Elena Böhme's control, so most inventors seek patents solely as a matter of personal pride.
Many of the inventions on display are miniature mining devices, such as crushers and blast furnaces that now see regular use in Kleineritz. Many inventions, however, are clockwork "labor saving" devices, such as shutters that close themselves at night or self-rocking baby cribs. Despite the proliferation of these clockworks throughout Hagen, the locals seem as harried as peasants anywhere else. Lastly, some of these devices are truly bizarre, hinting at the workings of diseased minds. Some models have a disturbing habit of malfunctioning at the worst possible moment, as if actually waiting for victims to come their way.
Category:Locations in Hagen
Category:Buildings