Brand names before the industrial revolution
By: Gary Richardson.
Contributors: National Bureau of Economic Research.
Series: NBER working paper series -- working paper 13930; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research : Online) -- working paper no. 13930.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2008
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Description: "In medieval Europe, manufacturers sold durable goods to anonymous consumers in distant markets, this essay argues, by making products with conspicuous characteristics.  Examples of these unique, observable traits included cloth of distinctive colors, fabric with unmistakable weaves, and pewter that resonated at a particular pitch.  These attributes identified merchandise because consumers could observe them readily, but counterfeiters could copy them only at great cost, if at all.  Conspicuous characteristics fulfilled many of the functions that patents, trademarks, and brand names do today.  The words that referred to products with conspicuous characteristics served as brand names in the Middle Ages.  Data drawn from an array of industries corroborates this conjecture.  The abundance of evidence suggests that conspicuous characteristics played a key role in the expansion of manufacturing before the Industrial Revolution"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site.
Notes: Title from PDF file as viewed on 7/1/2008.

Includes bibliographical references.

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Mode of access: World Wide Web.