“…Regarding the Nordic countries, Cipolla (1969: 113) stresses that more than 70% of the adult Nordic population, including Denmark, Faeroe Islands, Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Norway, along with Germany, Holland and Scotland, was literate by 1850.There are also estimates for Denmark and Norway that suggest that, already in 1873, around 87% were able to write and read and 99% were able to read (Hodne, 1981: 250). Other sources 6 For instance, it is stressed that the study of patents does not allow differentiating between inventions, improvements or innovations (Inkster, 2003). Likewise, it could be the case that definitions or prices to get patents are greatly different.…”