The three most important developments in world history, according
to Abraham Lincoln, were the perfection of printing, the discovery
of America, and the introduction of patent laws.
Printing allowed the widespread communication of ideas across
time and space. The discovery of America unveiled a vast continent of
resources and had produced a unique form of government where, for
the first time in world history, people governed themselves. ‘‘The patent
system,’’ Lincoln said, ‘‘added the fuel of interest to the fire of genius.’’
Lincoln’s appreciation of patent laws reflected that of George Washington
and the other founding fathers of the United States. The framers
of the Constitution, of which Washington was the most prominent, put
into that document a simple 32-word provision that has been the foundation
of U.S. progress for more than two centuries:
The Congress shall have power 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.