Statute of Monopolies

The Statute of Monopolies (21 Jas. 1. c. 3) was an act of the Parliament of England, passed on 29 May 1624, and it is recognized as the first statutory expression of English patent law. Patents had evolved out of letters patent, through which the monarch granted monopolies over particular industries to individuals bringing new techniques into the country, and although the system was originally meant to strengthen England's economy by fostering new industries, it gradually became a way for the Crown to raise money by charging patent-holders rather than resorting to taxation. Elizabeth I used the system extensively, issuing patents for common commodities such as starch and salt, and public unrest eventually persuaded her to transfer the administration of patents to the common law courts; her successor James I used the system even more heavily, prompting Parliament to curtail royal power over it. The statute repealed many past and future patents and monopolies but preserved a key exception for patents on novel inventions, and it has been described as one of the landmarks in the transition of England's economy from feudal to capitalist. Even after the statute took effect, a comprehensive legal doctrine around patents took over a century to develop, and Charles I continued to abuse the system by having disputes heard in courts he controlled, a practice ended only by the English Civil War and the Stuart Restoration. The Statute of Monopolies remains the basis for Australian patent law today, and it was also a pillar of United Kingdom intellectual property law until the country began following the European Patent Convention in 1977.