ABSTRACT
Patents, in terms of today’s thinking, ‹nd their roots at least as far back as the 15th century. The city-state of Venice, which dominated the Mediterranean region during the latter part of the Middle Ages, adopted the ‹rst patent law. The preamble to that 1474 Venetian Patent Act set forth a philosophy that can be found in all modern patent systems: a recognition that the grant of exclusive rights to an inventor, for a limited time, will encourage others to invent.
