The links between British aeronautical patents and inventive activity

[mypanache]

Hi, I'm researching the different ways that the early pre-war (mainly British) pioneers dealt with their intellectual property. Obviously there was the patenting route but I'm not sure exactly how influentual patented inventions were to the overall growth of aeronautical innovation. How many early planes actually contained patented inventions within them? Was there much buying and selling of patents going on? Were there any patent disputes (legal or otherwise) that anyone knows about? Also, is there a database of pre-war britsh aeronautical patents on the web (or in the real world)?

Any thoughts on the above would be really helpful!