The abbreviated history of intellectual property

This article first appeared on the CIPA website in March 2026.

 

Patent paralegal and self-confessed history nerd Hannah Harding looks into some weird and wonderful bits of the history of intellectual property

 

Oscar Wilde said that “anyone can make history, but only a great man can write it”. It would appear that – great or otherwise – not every maker of history had the chance to rely on intellectual property rights to protect their creations. 

 

The past may be a foreign country, but with some digging (pun entirely and unapologetically intended!) we can find landmarks that we in the IP industry can recognise.

 

Patents

The concept of protecting intellectual property is far older than one might assume. Ancient Greek historian Phylarchus tells us of chefs in the Greek colony of Sybaris (in modern Calabria, Italy) being granted a year-long monopoly to produce any unique dishes they invented – the term mirroring the annual feast cycle in the colony. This is thought to be the earliest example of the concept of IP protection, though after the destruction of Sybaris (in roughly 510BCE) the idea did not re-emerge until the Renaissance period. The principal reason for this is the rise of the Roman Empire with its very different form of imperial patronage. After the Empire’s collapse, it was difficult for smaller local governments to enforce intellectual property rights, and only when economies began to grow in the medieval period did the importance of these rights come to the fore again.

 

The earliest example of what could be considered something akin to a modern patent emerges in Venice in the early 15^thcentury. The Great Council of Venice awarded this first “patent” for a technological invention to Ser Franciscus Petri of Rhodes in 1416, for his device which turned wool into felt. The term was for fifty years and is the first recorded introduction of the right to exclude others.

 

Hot on Ser Franciscus’ entrepreneurial heels, in 1421 architect and engineer Filippo Brunelleschi was granted protection by the Great Council for his rights for the manufacture of a barge with hoists attached for use in the transportation of marble.

 

These two examples were part of an individualised grant system. In 1474, the Great Council of Venice introduced a statutory alternative to replace this ad hoc system, marking the birth of modern patent law.

 

Closer to home, the first patent recognised in England was granted by Henry VI to John of Utynam in 1449 for a method of producing stained glass previously unknown in England. The monopoly was granted for twenty years, and the method would be used in the creation of stained glass windows for Eton College.  

 

Patents continued to be granted in England from this point forwards, but not without controversy. The granting of Letters Patent, marked with the seal of the monarch, became just another method for kings and queens to indulge their favourites through royal patronage, sometimes in return for donations to the royal treasury. Public outcry and protests concerning the monopolies on salt and starch in particular led to the introduction of the Statute of Monopolies in 1623. Drafted principally by Sir Edward Coke, the statute set out limited protections for new inventions for a period of 14 years or less, and effectively outlawed what it described as “abusive monopolies”. England’s system of patent law had arrived.

 

Trade marks

Whilst the registration of a trade mark or sign to distinguish products did not begin until the 18^th century, we have been using forms of identification marks all the way back to prehistory. The Lascaux cave paintings in France show bulls with marks on them, leading historians to believe that people were using personal symbols to establish ownership of livestock as far back as 15,000 years ago. Archaeologists have uncovered numerous Ancient Egyptian monuments bearing marks indicating both the quarry where stone was sourced and the mason who had carried out the work – a skilled craftsman both advertising their work, and proving their right to their wages. Similarly, amphorae of wine found in the tomb of Tutankhamun (who ruled Egypt’s New Kingdom from roughly 1333BCE to 1323BCE) are marked with seals indicating the type of grape used, the name of the producer and the origin of the wine.

 

What we would recognise as trade mark law in England is older than its patent cousin. In the reign of Henry III in 1266, the “Assize of Bread and Ale” set out legislation regulating the size, weight and price of loaves of bread, as well as rules about the purity of flour used. Bakers had to use a distinctive sign to mark their loaves in order to identify their origin.

 

The topic of trade mark law would gain traction throughout the medieval period, with Italian Bartolo da Sassoferrato writing numerous publications on the topic, most notably Tractatus de Insignis et Armis, a treaty covering the mechanisms of permission to use coats of arms, how they could be used and shown and how they were to be painted and replicated.

 

For a more down to earth example, Munich brewery Löwenbräu claims to own the oldest continuously used trade mark in the world, tracing its lion logo back to circa 1383 – though Belgian rival Stella Artois claim their original logo has been in use since 1366. As I don’t drink, I’ll leave others to be decide between these tipples of choice!

 

Copyright

 

Modern copyright is granted to the author or creator of an original work, including the right to copy, distribute and adapt said work. Historically however there were an array of legal rights relating to books which did not solely rest with the creator. Various older laws recognised rights such as the economic rights of a benefactor who paid for a copy of a work to be made, the property rights of an owner of an individual copy of a work, and also the sovereign’s right to regulate the printing industry.

 

Prior to the invention of movable type (at least in the West) in the mid-15^th century, text had to be copied by hand and therefore only a small number of copies tended to be made, leaving little room for the occasion of rights being questioned to arise. When the printing press made the production of books far cheaper, the lack of existing copyright law meant anyone with the means could buy or rent a printing press and print a copy of any text they fancied. Over time this led to profound social change throughout Europe – say goodbye to cripplingly low literacy levels, and hello to the first mass market readership!

 

The origin of copyright law in most European countries can be traced largely to the efforts of both church and state to regulate the output of printers. This new relative ease with which multiple copies of a work could be produced meant ideas and information could spread far and wide in rapid fashion. Unease with this led to the Index Expurgatorius (“List of Prohibited Books”) being issued by the Roman Curia for the first time in 1559.

 

The first copyright privilege recorded in England was granted in 1518 to Richard Pynson, who succeeded William Caxton (the man credited with bringing the printing press to England) as King’s Printer. This privilege (called a “monopoly”, as all early copyright privileges were) was granted for two years. Such monopolies remained the right of the Crown to grant, and various attempts were made to curtail the production of seditious texts throughout the 15^th and 16^th centuries, including the creation of the Stationer’s Company guild in an attempt to centralise and register the right to print in England.

 

When the Stationer’s Company charter was not renewed, the first copyright statute in Britain was introduced in 1710, known informally as The Statute of Anne (the full name is “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”, for anyone who really wants to give their jaw a workout!)

 

Thus we see that even before the emergence of what we would recognise as modern IP law, ideas about ownership and exclusivity - just like history itself - did not stand still and continued to evolve through the centuries in interesting ways.