Gerster, R. (2001): Patents and Development. Lessons Learnt from the Economic History of Switzerland, Third World Network, Penang/Malaysia 2001.

This situation, however, is nothing new. In 1883, in a message directed to "high- level federal
authorities", eleven Swiss industrialists expressed their hope "in the interest of the general
welfare of our industries and commercial enterprises", that "the 'cup of sorrows' of patent
protection might pass from us untouched" (Beitrag 1883). This statement was signed by
individuals whose names -among them Benziger, Bühler, Geigy, Jenny, Rieter, Steiger,
Schwarzenbach and Ziegler - constituted a roster of leaders in Swiss industry. The textile
manufacturer Steiger offered the retrospective view that " Swiss industrial development was
fostered by the absence of patent protection. If patent protection had been in effect, neither the
textile industry nor the machine-building industry could have laid the foundations for
subsequent development, nor would they have flourished as they did" (Protocoll 1883, 83).

Conditions one hundred years ago were ideal: as a rule, Swiss industrial inventions could be
patented abroad, where patent legislation was in effect. But as Switzerland had no patent laws,
Swiss industries were free to copy foreign inventions without restriction. This situation
was richly exploited. It was not without good reason that the cry was heard from France, "La
Suisse, le pays de contre- facteurs" ("Switzerland, the land of counterfeiters", see Beitrag
1883, 52). In the German Reichstag Switzerland was repeatedly characterised as a "pirate
state" and a "predator state" for copying products such as aspirin and heroin without
permission. At a Swiss patent congress, A. Benziger, a manufacturer from central
Switzerland, declared, "Our industries owe their current state of development to what we have
borrowed from foreign countries. If this constitutes theft, then all our manufacturers are
thieves" (Protocoll 1883, 88).

Pdf, hence the formatting.

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Made in Germany - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The label was originally introduced in Britain by the Merchandise Marks Act 1887^[1], to mark foreign produce more obviously, as British society considered foreign produce to be inferior to domestic produce, and tried to get buyers to adhere to the concept of 'buying British'^{[citation needed]}.

In 1894, the German Reichstag's commission already reported that after suffering slight losses, German manufacturers soon found the label to be of good use since they could distinguish themselves better from the British manufacturers.^{[this quote needs a citation]} This led to more and more manufacturers voluntarily applying the label, and not even World War I, in which marks were mandatory in Britain in order to boycott the Central Powers countries' products,^{[citation needed]}, could dent the growing popularity of the mark.

The term Made in Germany was soon associated with product reliability, quality and even perfection^{[citation needed]}.

My memory, it needs citations. Can't find where the narrative comes from, but I am apparently not alone in picking it up.

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