ABSTRACT
Copyrights, trademarks, and patents are typically grouped into an area of the law that has become known as intellectual property. Trade secrets are sometimes included in this area as well. The constitutional origins of intellectual property, at least for copyrights and patents, can be traced to Article I, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution, which provides, among other powers, that Congress shall have the authority “[t]o promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” Patents and copyrights are regulated almost exclusively by federal statutes (Title 35 and Title 17 of the U.S. Code, respectively) since Congress has chosen to invoke the preemption doctrine granted under Article VI of the U.S. Constitution (known as the supremacy clause), which provides in part:
. . . This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
