"Foreword" [2012] ELECD 1186; in Shimanami, Ryo (ed), "The Future of the Patent System" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012) viii

Book Title: The Future of the Patent System

Editor(s): Shimanami, Ryo

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781781000533

Section Title: Foreword

Number of pages: 3

Extract:

Foreword
A patent is now talked about much as a wonder boy, but we can say that
it is still in its infancy, compared to ownership, which has a far longer
history. Although its origin dates back to the Venetian patent system in
the 15th century, the patent started to gain the significance we recognize
today only after the emergence of factory-based machine industry during
the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century. A patent system came about
as a result of a time when the conventional industrial structure changed
drastically, bringing about the era of mass production and mass sales. In
short, the current patent system evolved as a response to the needs of the
times, backed by the machinery and chemical industries which flourished
during the 18th and 19th centuries.
We must not forget that a patent is not a universal right, like ownership,
which exists beyond time, but has instead arisen from an industrial struc-
ture at a certain point in time. In other words, when the industrial struc-
ture changes along with changing times, the significance or raison d'être of
the patent system must also change. Once, during the period of the French
Revolution, a patent was appraised as a natural human right, but such a
notion was a theory elaborated in an attempt to deprive the monarchy of
its authority to grant exclusive rights. In a strict sense, a patent right was
born out of the climate of the industry at a certain time ...