Until recently Patents were thought to have originated in
England and been used only there prior to America an error
propagated by Jefferson, Lincoln and as late as 1948 by the
Supreme Court. Recent scholarship shows their Italian origin and
their early use in France, Germany, the Netherlands as well as
England. Venice granted 10-year monopolies to inventors of
silkmaking devices in the 1200s. These early patents were ad hoc
grants. In 1474 Venice passed first patent statute. It recognized
patents as a matter of right, rather than royal favor, and
provided for fines and the destruction of infringing devices.
Galileo was granted a patent[6]. In England, the Queen granted so many monopolies to her
friends that citizens protested; so England, in 1624, passed the
Statute of Monopolies. This prevented the granting of monopolies,
but gave people the right to obtain patents on inventions and
imports new to the realm. This statute distinguished between
monopolies, which it outlawed as taking from the public what it
already had, and patents, which it permitted as giving to the
public what it did not yet have. These patent laws were enacted at the end of the dark ages
just before the Renaissance in Italy and the Industrial
Revolution in England, suggesting that they stimulated
innovation. The Founding Fathers also believed that inventions (and
writings) belong to their creators inherently-rather than to the
state to be granted at its pleasure. This principle was embodied
in the Constitution[1,6], where Article 1, Section 8 says, The Congress shall have the power to promote the progress
of science and the useful arts by securing for a limited time
to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their
respective writings and discoveries. Congress has the power, not to grant rights but to secure
inherent rights. This is the principle expressed in the
Declaration of Independence that "all men are endowed by
their creator with certain unalienable rights." In the
Federalist Papers, James Madison, in describing the patent powers
observed that, "The public good fully coincides... with the
claims of individuals." The creators of the Constitution knew history, the ways of men
and women, and patents-9 of the 13 colonies granted patents. We
should give weight to findings of fact embodied in the
Constitution. Two concern patents: Patent rights are inherent
rights like freedom of speech; and patents promote innovation. (Last updated on 10/06/98) Intellectual Property Creators
Brief History of Patents
Intellectual
Property Creators
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© Paul Heckel 1995-7