Intellectual Property Law

Why did the intellectual property rights start? who invented them?

I'd really appreciate if some one can explain the answers to following questions as soon as possible. 1. Why did the intellectual property rights start? (what was the need) 2. Who invented them? 3. Which was the very first country to introduce it? 4. Who introduced this term for the very first time? Plus, it will be of great help to me if anyone could also explain how did the concept of intellectual rights come to Pakistan?

Public Comments

1. In the United States, the Patent office was established around 1804 by Thomas Jefferson. The idea behind it was to promote innovation by trading an exclusive right to an inventor in exchange for publishing all the secrets to that invention. That is, the inventor has to make public how the invention works. They are protected for a period of time in that nobody else can sell their invention. But, in the meantime, others can see how the invention works and try to make something better. The inventor who has the patent is also encouraged to make improvements on their product knowing that their exclusive right to it won't last forever. The idea of intellectual property goes back before that. The first use of it that I know of is the issuing of Copyrights to particular printers by the monarch of England. This allowed the monarch to have some control of the publishing of information but also enabled publishers to make a profit from publishing books and political treatises. That doesn't answer all of your question but I hope it provides some information to you.