 The statute is worded " strongly and broadly " , and other than the exceptions mainly repeated the existing common law . The statute has long been considered a key moment in patent law ; Chris Dent , writing in the Melbourne University Law Review , identifies it as " a significant marker in the history of patents " with continuing importance , although it is neither the start nor end of patent law . Despite the statute , the courts did not develop a comprehensive and coherent legal doctrine for patent law for more than a century after the statute came into force . Not only is it highly important within patent law , it also played a large role in economics ; G. A. Bloxam , writing in the Journal of Industrial Economics , identifies the passage of the Statute of Monopolies as " one of the landmarks in the transition of [ England 's ] economy from the feudal to the capitalist " . 
