II.

History

The term “patent” is taken from the original “letters patent”, which was an open letter from the sovereign conferring some such rights. The first English patent was granted in 1449 by Henry VI to John of Utynam, giving him a monopoly on the making of stained glass for a period of 20 years. In return, John was required to teach the details of the invention to others, so that eventually they too could use the technique to establish a new industry in England.