We had a brief talk in class about this section in the U.S. Constitution because one student expressed an interest in becoming a patent lawyer (I think that was the goal).
The U.S. Constitution contains a clause concerning intellectual property rights.
Here it is:
Clause 8 Intellectual Property
To 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.
Here are a few readings related to that right:
- ArtI.S8.C8.1 Overview of Congress's Power Over Intellectual Property
- ArtI.S8.C8.2 Historical Background
- ArtI.S8.C8.2.1 English Origins of Intellectual Property Law
- ArtI.S8.C8.2.2 Framing and Ratification of Intellectual Property Clause
- ArtI.S8.C8.3 Copyrights
- ArtI.S8.C8.3.1 Authorship, Writings, and Originality
- ArtI.S8.C8.3.2 Limited Times for Copyrights and the Progress of Science
- ArtI.S8.C8.3.3 Copyright and the First AmendmentArtI.S8.C8.4 Patents
- ArtI.S8.C8.4.1 Inventorship and Utility
- ArtI.S8.C8.4.2 Patent-Eligible Subject Matter
- ArtI.S8.C8.4.3 Constitutional Constraints on Congress's Power Over Granted Patents
- ArtI.S8.C8.5 Federal Power Over Trademarks
- ArtI.S8.C8.6 State Regulation of Intellectual Property