I’m watching a documentary on tanks on Netflix, and they discuss how tank designs were being patented and sold prior to WWII. Once the war starts, are adversaries obligated to respect the patents of other countries or could they design the exact same tank if they got hands on the blueprints? Same with other advancements I’m just watching the tanks one right now so that’s what spurred the question.
Sometimes, certainly. In this chain from an old AMA, /u/othais, /u/swuboo and I discuss some patent issues that cropped up in WWI and may be of interest to you.