IPR seems to be a modern discovery but in actuality, it has been since civilization. IPR is an old invention. The architect and engineer Filippo Brunelleschi received the earliest known patent for an industrial invention in Florence in 1421. The patent granted him a three-year monopoly on the production of a marble-transporting barge with hoisting equipment
Everything and everyone has a history, IPR has history too. Types of IPR like patents, copyrights, and trademarks have different histories.
HISTORY OF PATENTS:
On July 16, 1331, King Edward III of England created history by issuing a letter's patent granting the king's protection. It was given to John Kemp, a weaver of wool clothes from Flanders. Kemp was permitted by the queen to use his discoveries and to trade in wool clothes made in England with the help of his craft.
He also had the option of choosing the person he wanted to learn his weaving technique from. As a result of the protection, Kemp was given sole rights to create and disseminate his knowledge and skills. In many ways, this ruling is important to contemporary patents.
The precursors of patents were letters patent, which monarchs issued to confer monopolies over particular industries using cutting-edge technology. This authority was frequently abused and utilized primarily to raise money for the crown. Elizabeth I made extensive use of this system, granting patents even for everyday items like salt, grain, etc. The dispute between the Parliament and the Crown was sparked by these evil monopolies, and it was finally resolved in 1601. The decision was made to give common law courts control over patent administration.
HISTORY OF COPYRIGHTS:
Similar to how patents, which granted specific writers and printers the exclusive right to produce books and other things, arose, so did copyright. The goal of this was not to safeguard the rights of authors but rather to increase government revenue and give it more authority over publishing.
For instance, the Stationers' Company's monopoly was established in England in 1556 with the express purpose of assisting in limiting the influence of the Protestant Reformation movement. The corporation was given authority over the whole printing sector, allowing the government and the church to halt the spread of ideas.
HISTORY OF TRADEMARKS:
In England, trademarks have been in use since the 13th century. The first people to use trademarks were bakers. During the reign of King Henry III in 1266, England passed trademark legislation. In England, bakers utilized their unique symbols to identify their goods from one another.
The Merchandise Act in England was passed in 1862, while the first contemporary trademark regulation can be traced to France in 1857. The Bass Brewery's label, which featured a three-triangle emblem signifying ale, had the earliest registered trademark in the United Kingdom in 1876. The dictum nobody has any right to represent his goods as the goods of somebody else and nobody has the right to pass off his goods as the goods of somebody else was established when a clothier who had gained a great reputation by putting his marks on clothes made by him was used by another to deceive and make profits.
IPR has been in the world since back then and now developing all over the world. It has been increasing economic growth. It also has been a great help for inventors and startups. IPR has advantages and disadvantages; you have to use it properly and carefully. If used carefully, it will result in huge profits and many benefits. The state, as well as the central government, is also making efforts to create more awareness about IP.
