Invention, Authorship, "Intellectual Property," and the Origin of Patents: Notes toward a Conceptual History

Abstract

issues involving both old and new technologies are pressing and controversial in contemporary scientific and technical culture.' Yet the historical development of the concept of itself needs far more study. As it pertains to technology, intellectual property involves particular attitudes toward craft knowledge and practice, invention, and authorship, and is properly studied within the context of these intrinsically related issues. A complex background of history precedes the origin of the limited monopoly that is called a patent. Intellectual property, a legal concept, refers to various kinds of intangible property. With reference to technology, it involves the belief that knowledge of craft processes and techniques and the development of technological innovations are forms of with commercial value that are separate from products or devices.2 laws grant limited monopolies under certain conditions for particular kinds of authorship. Most modern legal systems distinguish between patents and copyrights. Yet to project this distinction too DR. LONG is a tutor at St. John's College, Annapolis, Maryland. She is working on a book concerning the issues of openness, secrecy, authorship, and in pre-17th-century writings on the practical and military arts. Aspects of the research were presented at the 1990 SHOT meeting in Cleveland. She gratefully acknowledges