Russia's inventor heritage

AThe article focuses on the only source of scientific and technical information and state protection of the results of intellectual activity of the 19th — early 20th centuries — the Collection of privileges for inventions of the Russian Empire, which is the part of the State Patent Collection. The author gives the stages of development of invention protection from the adoption of the first law of 1812 to 1917, identifies and schematizes the distinctive features of each period, demonstrates the titles of protection. In fine, the author makes a conclusion about the cultural and historical significance of the collection and the prospects for studying the history of the development of inventive idea in Russia in the humanities knowledge.