> Patents (what protects inventions) have nothing to do with copyright.
Besides sibling comment, see "The Spies Who Launched America’s Industrial Revolution":
> Long before the United States began accusing other countries of stealing ideas, the U.S. government encouraged intellectual piracy to catch up with England’s technological advances. According to historian Doron Ben-Atar, in his book,[1] Trade Secrets, “the United States emerged as the world's industrial leader by illicitly appropriating mechanical and scientific innovations from Europe.”
Besides sibling comment, see "The Spies Who Launched America’s Industrial Revolution":
> Long before the United States began accusing other countries of stealing ideas, the U.S. government encouraged intellectual piracy to catch up with England’s technological advances. According to historian Doron Ben-Atar, in his book,[1] Trade Secrets, “the United States emerged as the world's industrial leader by illicitly appropriating mechanical and scientific innovations from Europe.”
* https://www.history.com/articles/industrial-revolution-spies...