Patent
In 1474, the Senate of Venice issued a decree that established the first statutory patent system. This Venetian Patent Statute granted inventors legal protection for ten years if they communicated their new and inventive devices to the Republic. The document required public disclosure in exchange for exclusive rights against potential infringers. Earlier forms of protection existed in Ancient Greece within the city of Sybaris, but no written statute survived from that era. Recent historical research suggests the 1474 Statute may have been inspired by laws in the Kingdom of Jerusalem regarding silk-making techniques. As Venetians emigrated, they carried these ideas to other countries, spreading the concept of state-granted monopolies. England developed its own system through the Statute of Monopolies passed in 1624. King James I had revoked existing monopolies after public outcry and restricted letters patent to original inventions. By 1790, the United States Congress passed its first Patent Act titled An Act to promote the progress of useful Arts. Samuel Hopkins received the first patent under this act on the 31st of July 1790 for producing potash. Between 1790 and 1836 about ten thousand patents were granted before a major revision introduced an examination system.
A patent grants only the right to exclude others from making or selling an invention. It does not provide the owner with a direct right to make or use the invention themselves. Herman v. Youngstown Car Mfg. Co., decided in 1911, established this distinction clearly. Many patented improvements rely on prior patents held by others. If an inventor improves an existing machine still covered by another patent, they must obtain permission from the original holder. The term of protection usually lasts twenty years from the filing date according to Article 33 of the TRIPS Agreement. Maintenance fees are required to keep the patent active throughout this period. In the United States, these fees are due at 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 anniversaries of issuance. Only approximately fifty percent of issued US patents maintain their full term. Some countries enforce working provisions that require the invention be exploited within the jurisdiction. Failure to work an invention can lead to revocation or compulsory licensing by courts. Patents function as limited property rights that inventors exchange for public disclosure of details.
Filing a patent application requires submitting written documentation to the relevant national office. The applicant must describe how to make and use the invention with sufficient detail for a skilled person to replicate it. One or more claims define the scope of protection sought by the applicant. After submission, the application enters prosecution where a patent examiner reviews compliance with local requirements. Objections communicated through Office actions may require responses from the applicant or their attorney. A final rejection ends the process unless the application is granted after payment of additional fees. International agreements like the Patent Cooperation Treaty allow applicants to file in over one hundred fifty countries simultaneously. This treaty provides a thirty-month priority period compared to the twelve months offered by the Paris Convention. The European Patent Office charges annual fees for pending applications before grant. In Ecuador between 2012 and 2016 maintenance fees increased ten-fold making it temporarily the most expensive country to maintain patents. Large corporations tend to pay maintenance fees through the full term while small businesses often abandon them earlier despite lower costs for microentities.
A study conducted annually by the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies found that the two thousand largest global companies invested more than four hundred thirty billion euros in research departments during 2008. Patents provide incentives for economically efficient research and development efforts. A 2009 study on patent effects across various nations found that a ten percent increase in patenting activity in 1910 correlated with nine to eleven percent higher per capita GDP levels by 1960. Positive effects were particularly strong in the United States, Switzerland, and Sweden. However, patenting is not the sole factor influencing national income growth as schooling also plays a significant role. Recent data shows declining innovation output in technologically advanced countries like France, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, and the UK since the 1980s. Stanford University analyzed 4,512 patents obtained between 1970 and 2020 and found only twenty percent produced positive net income. The remaining patents resulted in net losses for the university. Some researchers argue human civilization reaches limits of processing information rather than technological barriers. Others suggest innovation rates correlate with population growth models instead of total population size.
The first patent granted to a woman in England went to Mrs. Amye Everard Ball in 1637 for a tincture of saffron. Married women in the United States historically could not own property or control their own income from inventions under section one of the Patent Act of 1790. This legal barrier prevented them from obtaining patents despite having the right to invent. Disparity persists today even though historical restrictions have lessened over the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. As of 2015, only eight percent of inventors in the United Kingdom were female. Women remain underrepresented in traditionally patent-intensive sectors particularly within STEM fields. Internal bias within the patent system contributes to this gap according to Marcowitz-Bitton and colleagues. Share of women among listed inventors in PCT applications reached seventeen point seven percent in 2023. Applications by artificial intelligence systems like DABUS have been rejected in the US, UK, and European Patent Office because they are not natural persons. The gender gap reflects both historical barriers and current structural challenges facing female innovators globally.
Patent infringement occurs when a third party makes uses or sells a patented invention without authorization from the patentee. Enforcement happens on a national basis so making an item in China that infringes a US patent does not constitute violation unless imported into the United States. Patents generally enforce through civil lawsuits filed in federal district courts for American cases. Some countries including France and Austria impose criminal penalties for wanton infringement. Patent owners seek monetary compensation called damages for past infringement plus injunctions prohibiting future acts. To prove infringement the owner must establish the accused infringer practices all requirements of at least one claim. An accused infringer can challenge validity in a counterclaim using grounds such as prior publication or obviousness. In 1999 about sixteen hundred patent litigation cases occurred compared to one hundred fifty-three thousand patents issued that same year. Legal costs reach approximately one million dollars per case when disputes reach court though ninety-five percent settle out of court. Contributory infringement involves participating in another's infringement while inducement means assisting or paying others to violate a patent.
Legal scholars and economists have debated whether patents block innovation and waste resources since the nineteenth century. Critics argue low quality or obvious patents hamper commercialization efforts significantly. Patent thickets create overlapping sets of rights that slow down progress in specific industries. Non-practicing entities known as patent trolls hold broad patents without contributing to actual innovation. In 2011 US business entities incurred twenty-nine billion dollars in direct costs due to these assertion companies. Lawsuits brought by patent assertion companies made up sixty-one percent of all patent cases in 2012 according to Santa Clara University School of Law data. Rent-seeking behavior by pharmaceutical owners raises prices for life-saving drugs beyond reach of many people. Some researchers conclude there is no clear evidence supporting the assumption that patents provide significant incentives except within the pharmaceutical industry. Alternative solutions include trade secrets which protect information indefinitely without fees or disclosure requirements. Defensive publications establish prior art to prevent others from patenting similar ideas. Prize systems proposed by Joseph Stiglitz aim to advance global problems like AIDS without traditional patent mechanisms. The Patent Busting Project launched in 2004 challenges illegitimate patents suppressing online expression through documentation and submission processes.
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Common questions
When was the first statutory patent system established by the Senate of Venice?
The Senate of Venice issued the decree establishing the first statutory patent system in 1474. This Venetian Patent Statute granted inventors legal protection for ten years if they communicated their new and inventive devices to the Republic.
What is the term of protection for a patent according to Article 33 of the TRIPS Agreement?
The term of protection usually lasts twenty years from the filing date according to Article 33 of the TRIPS Agreement. Maintenance fees are required to keep the patent active throughout this period.
Who received the first patent under the United States Patent Act of 1790 on the 31st of July 1790?
Samuel Hopkins received the first patent under this act on the 31st of July 1790 for producing potash. Between 1790 and 1836 about ten thousand patents were granted before a major revision introduced an examination system.
How many percent of inventors in the United Kingdom were female as of 2015?
As of 2015, only eight percent of inventors in the United Kingdom were female. Women remain underrepresented in traditionally patent-intensive sectors particularly within STEM fields.
When did the Senate of Venice issue the decree that established the first statutory patent system?
In 1474, the Senate of Venice issued a decree that established the first statutory patent system. This Venetian Patent Statute granted inventors legal protection for ten years if they communicated their new and inventive devices to the Republic.