Letters patent

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Letters patent from Queen Victoria

Letters patent refers to a document in the English- speaking world about the granting of a title or status or the granting of other privileges or rights to a person, an institution or a company by a ruler or an appropriately authorized institution. The privileges and rights guaranteed by Letters patent also include claims to an area, the use of a trade monopoly and rights to inventions and products.

The plural word letters patent goes back to the Latin litterae patentes , which means "open letter". The word patent has the same origin .

history

The principle of issuing rulers' certificates in the form of an "open letter" has been common across Europe since the 12th century.

In England , too , legal rights were granted via a letters patent since the 13th century . Such documents gave inventors and importers of new technologies exclusive rights of use and trade for a certain period of time. In the statutes on monopolies from 1623 z. B. stipulated that the rights were valid for a period of 14 years. The open documents were provided with the Great Seal , the royal seal , from 1461 and were intended to indicate the exclusive rights to the public accordingly.

The letters patent was also used for appointing people to public office from the 14th century. The appointment of the first royal attorney, the forerunner of the Attorney General , was made in 1315 without a specific title on a letters patent . 1327 took place then the award of the title of King's Attorney (royal lawyer) of Edward II. Until 1727 the documents were written in Latin and 1885 valid today form the United Kingdom introduced.

present

Even in today's parlance, certain documents are referred to as Letters Patent , for example documents for the award of nobility, for the appointment of governors and for the enforcement of laws by the British Crown .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Courtney Terrell: The Law and Practice relating to Letters Patent for Inventions . 5th edition. Sweet and Maxwell, Ltd., London 1909, Chapter I, pp. 1 (English, Online Archive [PDF; 8.6 MB ; accessed on September 18, 2019]).
  2. ^ John Coryton: A Treatise on the Law of Letters-Patent for the Sole use of Inventions in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . Hodges and Smith, Dublin 1855, Introductory Chapter, pp. 1 (English, Online Archive [PDF; 7.0 MB ; accessed on September 18, 2019]).
  3. ^ Royal Grants: Letters Patent and Charters, 1199 - Present Day . The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey , accessed June 6, 2010 .
  4. ^ A b Attorney General's Office - History . Attorney General Office , accessed June 6, 2010 .
  5. ^ Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (Ed.): Patents and Innovation in the International Context . Paris 1997, p. 4.6 (English).
  6. ^ Statutory Instrument 1992 No. 1730 . Office of Public Sector Information , accessed June 6, 2010 .
  7. ^ Letters Patent Constituting the Office of Governor-General of New Zealand (SR 1983/225) . New Zealand Legislation , accessed June 6, 2010 .
  8. ^ Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 737 - The Scottish Parliament (Letters Patent and Proclamations) Order 1999 . Office of Public Sector Information , accessed June 6, 2010 .