Intellectual Property: a young lady over 5,000 years old!

As the notion of intellectual property is being abused, as some predict its demise, as OpenAi integrates it into its reflections, as taxations on streaming platforms are put in place, it is interesting to go back to its origins to rediscover its meaning and possibly its usefulness.

A rare fact, this notion is shared by virtually all countries , and constitutes a common foundation for all civilizations and economic systems, however diverse they may be.

The earliest traces of protection for intellectual creations date back to antiquity, when the Greeks and Romans granted a form of recognition to inventors and creators.

With the advent of the Renaissance in Europe, greater importance was attached to individual creativity and innovation. The first patents, granted by monarchs and governments, began to emerge. The first known official patent is that granted in 1421 to Italian inventor Filippo Brunelleschi for a marble transport barge.

In 1789, France’s Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen proclaimed the right to property as one of man’s natural and imprescriptible rights, and in 1793, France passed its first copyright law. The need to protect inventions and intellectual creations logically intensified as the industrial revolution progressed, and quite naturally in the 19th century, several countries began to introduce appropriate legislation.

In 1883, the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property was signed, laying the foundations for an international framework for the protection of patents, trademarks and industrial designs. Subsequent international treaties have harmonized intellectual property regulations on a global scale, such as the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which came into force in 1995.

Today, intellectual and industrial property is a crucial aspect of world trade, protecting the rights of inventors, creators and businesses while encouraging innovation and creativity. It represents an indispensable pillar of social, cultural and industrial construction.

So let’s not reduce it simply to a right, but understand that it is one of the foundations of a humanistic and economic world, both concerned with respect.

When you’ve been through 5,000 years of transformations, there’s no doubt that you know how to adapt to AI, streaming, ever-varying counterfeits and birds of ill omen…

– Nathalie FAYETTE, Trademark Attorney and Founder of Mark & Law