378 CYRUS N. ANDERSON 



monopoly, becomes at the expiration of the patent a valu- 

 able donation to society." 



At least as early as about the year 1600 the right of 

 property in invention was well understood and had a well- 

 estabhshed and defined standing in the common law. As 

 indicating that in the common law of England at that time 

 the reason for granting exclusive privileges to inventors, 

 and that the rights of property in inventions were fairly 

 understood, I will quote what was said by the court in 

 the case of Darcy vs. Allin: ''Where any man, by his own 

 charge and industry, or by his own wit or invention, doth 

 bring any new trade into the realm, or any engine tending 

 to the furtherance of a trade that was never used before; 

 and that for the good of the realm; that in such cases the 

 king may grant to him a monopoly patent for some reason- 

 able time, until the subjects may learn the same, in con- 

 sideration of the good that he doth bring by his invention to 

 the commonwealth; otherwise not." 



Sir Edward Coke said of patent privileges that 'The 

 reason wherefore such a privilege is good in law is because 

 the inventor bringeth to and for the commonwealth a new 

 manufacture by his invention, costs and charges, and there- 

 fore it is reason that he should have a privilege for his re- 

 ward (and the encouragement of others in the like) for a 

 convenient time." 



It does not appear that there was any statutory law 

 passed in England concerning the patenting of inventions 

 until the year 1623, in the twenty first year of the reign of 

 James I., at which time the statute of monopoHes was passed, 

 which declared certain monopohes to be void, and pro- 

 hibited the grant of such monopolies in the future. One 

 section of this statute, however, related to patents and read 

 as follows : 



"Provided also, and be it declared and enacted: That 

 any declaration before mentioned shall not extend to any 

 letters patent and grants of privilege, for the term of four- 

 teen years or under, hereafter to be made, of the sole work- 

 ing or making of any manner of new manufactures, within 

 this realm, to the true and first inventor and inventors of 



