Venice, 1474, the Piazza San Marco.
This was the hub of commercial activity. Venice had a lucrative glass-blowing trade and many other crafts guilds. The Venetian senate was hoping to attract foreign innovations and stimulate the economy (sound familiar?) so they passed what was essentially a patent law. The law stated that if anyone makes and perfects something innovative which has never been made in Venice, the creator shall have the sole rights to it for ten years. If someone infringed upon the “patent” he would be fined 100 ducats (nearly $7000 in today’s money) and would immediately destroy the object.
Reference
http://www.wired.com/print/science/discoveries/news/2008/03/dayintech_0319
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4 comments:
Wow, that is very interesting! I cannot believe that back in 1474 they were concerned with patent laws. Very interesting topic! Love your layout as well!
I love the angle of your blog! History is a great way to go! It makes me want to dig up some more historical data about copyright. I'll admit that when we first began this assignment I thought copyright was pretty new. I was impressed that it was around during George Washington's time!
I'm happy that you are enjoying the historical aspect of copyright. I'm enjoying finding out about it also.
The history of copyright. That's a great approach to our blog assignment. I will definitely be re-visiting to see what other interesting events of the past have brought us to our current practice of copyright. Good work.
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