How patents emerged: A Brief Overview
Posted by admin on Jan 25, 2009
The patents systems created by the United States is the most successful system in the world. After filing your Patent you can expect a wait of 12 to 18 months before you hear whether it has been approved or not. You should learn a little about the origins of the US patent system so if you are waiting for the Patent Offices’ decision concerning your invention, you can do this during your waiting period.
The first European patents were issued in the Republic of Venice in the late 15h century, but these early Venetian patents did not result in the creation of a patent system. This patent system that originated in England in the 15th century, was a 20-year monopoly given to John of Utynam for the use of a new method to make stained glass, by King Henry VI . The first patent in English history was Utynam’s and it gave inventors rights to earning from their inventions.
The foundation of both present-day English and US patent laws were formed by later English developments. Before the Statute of Monopolies Law was passed in 1624, monopolies used to be granted by English royalty who tended to use patents to give them to people who gave money to the royal treasury, and it was possible for patentees to get monopolies for products that were not new. The Statute of Monopolies law stated that patents would only be granted to new inventions and that monopolies were contrary to English laws. The law also established time limitations to patents. Early in the 18th century, the English Court required that inventions be described in writing before patents could be granted. Since these English patent laws were in force during the Colonial period, they comprise the basic principles of modern US patent law.
Before long the legal system of the United States began, in turn, to influence British patent laws. Inventors can look to a clause in the first Article of the US Constitution, which pertains to Arts and Science, for protection in maintaining exclusive rights to their inventions. Prior to 1790, the King of England had been the sole official owner of all inventions created by the colonists.
The US Congress accepted the first US Patent Statute in 1790; and then in 1836 a patent law passed providing the first patent system worldwide. The principal feature of this system is that all patent applications are reviewed to ascertain that the inventions in question conform to the law and to ensure that they are new. The statute of 1836 established the US Patent Office employing expert workers to assess patent applications. Applicants were accorded the right to contest the decisions of the Patent Office and a further right of appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States.
Among the many significant differences between the US Patent Law and the patent laws of England and European countries at the time was that it did not aim at exacting a price for granting patents; nor was it ever an instrument for raising revenues for the state. In the US there were patent application fees — are also — priced fairly.
These fees are only used to pay for the administrative costs of the United States Patent Office. In England, by contrast, exorbitant fees limited access to patents to a privileged few. Patent costs in England were four times the average income in 1860. Patent fees were a source of revenues for the Crown and the Court, and inventors had to follow complicated administrative procedures before they could obtain patents.
Faced with growing concerns over US competition by the English, English patent laws introduced some changes. During the 1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition, England finally realized that the United States as well as by other European nations, represented a threat to its initial industrial supremacy. The Patent Law Amendment Act the first real adjustment of the patent system in two centuries and lasted well into the twentieth century that this realization signaled the start of a revision process that began in 1852 when Parliment approved. Obviously influenced by the US Patent Law, the English Patent Law of 1852 lowered patent application fees and created the Office of the Commissioners of Patents for Inventions.
US Patent Law was designed to encourage inventiveness. To permit the use of their inventions unlike many European countries, the United States does not require patentees. Nevertheless, although there have been many independent inventors in the United States since Samuel Hopkins received the first US patent in 1790, the most valuable patents today are owned by large corporations who have the means to exploit them.
The debate between the advantages of protecting free inventors and the disadvantages of monopoly is as important now as it was 400 years ago when the English Parliament passed the law called the Statute of Monopolies in the year 1624.
My Advice as a California Tax Lawyer
Posted by admin on Oct 8, 2008
Perhaps you’ve heard of or seen Hollywood’s portrayal of Swiss Bank accounts, Offshore Trusts and Corporations, and Tax Havens of the rich and famous as jet setting moguls live mysterious yet exciting lives.
Well, in California things are different because mainly, in the real world, although these same financial structures (most administrated by reputable and legal banks), have been around for hundreds of years, there are still many people who consider the above strategic asset protection entities as illegal. I think we need to look at what they were intended to do. Asset or lawsuit protection laws were designed for the very purpose of protecting your assets from being frozen and the possibility of unjust forfeiture.
The reason why I’m writing this article is because I used to work for a California Tax Lawyer firm, and trust me, I know that I’m talking about. In many cases, many others consider asset protection a moral dilemma, something unethical or dishonest. This is the furthest thing from the truth.But, at the same time, I’m not trying to start a moral debate here nor am I recommending nor would any attorney in their right mind advise that you avoid paying a judgment or fine that you rightfully owe.
That being said, I feel you should be in the position to make the final verdict on what is fair and right. Because when lifetime, incumbent judges and bleeding-heart juries stop handing out ludicrous decisions, then I’ll be the first person to tell you that you’ll no longer need to protect your hard earned assets. I guess the irony of it is, that California Tax attorneys, government agencies such as the IRS and the FTC, and everyone outside the asset protection circle, make every effort to characterize legal asset protection as dishonest, fraudulent, or worse.
Of course, their motives are transparent. They viciously denounce anyone who successfully stop their efforts to collect or seize their assets which then disrupts the stream of income flowing in their direction.
