Intellectual Property

Intellectual Property (IP) as defined by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is anything created by the mind such as inventions,literary and artistic works, symbols, names, images, and designs that are commercially used. It is divided into two categories: Industrial Property which include industrial designs, inventions etc., and Copyright which include literary and artistic creations such novels, poems, plays, music and drawings. IP is protected by patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret.

History of Intellectual Property

The Ancient Greece

The beginnings of intellectual property can be traced back in the Ancient Greece around 500 B.C.E. The chefs in the Greek colony of Sybarias were the first holders of year-long monopolies in creating a particular recipe. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy cited the accounts written in American Patent and Copyright Law by Bruce Bugbee in 1967 that the first violation of intellectual property during the ancient times was revealed by Vitruvius (257-180 B.C.E.), a judge in a literary contest in Alexandria.He exposed false poets who used the words and phrases of others and they were tried, convicted and disgraced.

The Roman Period

During the Roman period, Fidentinus was caught reciting the words or Martial without citing his source. Although punishments were enforced to those individuals who use the words of others during the Ancient Greece or Roman times, there is no recorded Roman Law written for the protection of Intellectual Property.

The Florentine Republic

During the birth of the Florentine Republic, historical accounts revealed that franchise, privileges and royal favors were granted to individuals for their works and inventions. According to Bugbee, the Florentine Republic issued the first statutes protecting the rights of authors and inventors of products from their intellectual creations on June 14, 1921 to a famous architect named Filippo Brunelleschi.The Florentine Patent Statute of 1421 became the basis of the first lasting intellectual property institution written in the Venetian Republic statute of 1474 which was established 150 years prior to England's Statute of Monopolies.

According to the Frank D. Prager, author of the Journal of the Patent office Society 26 (11), the first person who received the first actual Patent of Monopoly in Venice was John of Speyer, A German printer.He was given the exclusive right to print without opposition based on customary law and it was later confirmed with a written pronouncement by means of statute of administrative Decree. During this period, inventions were officially evaluated and examined by experts before patent is granted. Two recorded copyright and patent were enforced in Venice. Copyrights were also granted in Venice around 1500's for new and old books. However, commerce in Venice declined and the development of copyright was subdued by Church and State Censorship.

The Statute of Monopolies

Based on historical accounts, the first law enacted for the protection of Intellectual Property was English Statute of Monopolies of 1623, which serves as the original basis of Anglo-American Patent Law. The statute defined inventions as new and patents are granted for a limited time of 14 years and ended the granting of rights to ideas or works the are not original and are already being used by the general public.

Statute of Anne

According to Historians, the first modern copyrights law was enacted April 10, 1710 known as Statute of Anne (Anno Octavo,Annae Reginae), "an act for the Encouragement of Learning, by Vesting the Copies of Printed Books in the Authors or Purchasers of such Copies, during the Times therein mentioned." The law grants an individual 14 years of copyright and his Assignee or Assigns are given the right to renew to print or reprint the book for another fourteen years. Part of the Statute reads...

Whereas Printers, Booksellers, and other Persons, have of late frequently taken the Liberty of Printing, Reprinting,and Publishing, or causing to be Printed, Reprinted, and Published Books,and other Writings, without the Con-sent of the Authors or Proprietors of such Books and Writings, to their very great Detriment, and too often to the Ruin of them and their Fami-lies: For Preventing therefore such Practices for the future, and for the Encouragement of Learned Men to Compose and Write use-ful Books; May it please Your Majesty, that it may be Enacted, and be it Enacted by the Queens most Excellent Majesty,...(Statute of Anne 1710, Great Britain)

Connecticut Copyright Statute

The first formal copyright law that was enacted in the United States was the Connecticut Statute of 1783 which is based from the Statute of Anne granting an author 14 years of copyright to profit from his work and such copyright is renewable for another 14 years if he is still alive.This statute served as the basis for US Copyright Act.

US Federal Copyright Act of 1790

The United States Congress enacted the US Copyright Act of 1790, an act which encourage learning by securing the copies of maps, charts and books to the authors and proprietors of such materials have the sole right and liberty to print, reprint, publish and sell for the period of fourteen years. The copyright owner must be a citizen of the United States and the copyright can be further renewed by himself, his executors, administrators or assigns for fourteen years. Note that the Copyright Act of 1790 protects only a few materials such as books, charts and maps and it is still an adaptation of the Statute of Anne.

Revised US Copyright Law of 1831

In 1831, the United States Congress revised the US Federal Copyright Act of 1790 due to the active lobbying of Noah Webster and his agents in the Congress. The Revised US Copyright Law of 1831 extended the term of copyright owners for twenty eight years and the copyright for musical composition was added. In addition,the children and widow of a deceased author was granted the right and liberty to renew the copyright for fourteen years.

UK International Copyright Act of 1838

The UK Copyright Act of 1838 provided foreign authors who are under the colony of the United Kingdom the same right enjoyed by British citizens to own the copyright for their works. This law became the basis of international copyright law.