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The Origin of the Letters Patent
A letters patent was a legal document normally issued by a government or by the monarch of a region that provided exclusive rights or title to an entity whether a corporation or person. In essence the letters patent was an open document issued to a person.
Since the letters patent was an open letter, it was meant for anyone reading the document to understand that specific rights were awarded to the owner of the letter.
The open letter is normally personal in nature in the sense that it addresses an individual, but is distributed by means of public media.
It today is used for the granting of patent rights to the inventor. Forgery of such a letter is serious and punishable by law.
This letter states the monopoly rights to a specific invention and thus is a form of protection for the inventor against infringement upon those rights.
It grants the inventor for instance, in South Africa, a period of twenty years exclusive rights to the particular invention. This means that the inventor has the exclusive rights to making, distribution and commercial benefit from the invention for the particular period.
By means of license agreements, rights can be awarded to others in return for payment. Assignment of such rights can take place through full recordation of such.
The opposite of an open letter will be the letters close, which is also a legal document granting title or status to an entity.
Such a letter is normally sealed and only meant for the recipient. If in the past the seal was broken before reaching the recipient, the authenticity of the document would be severely affected.
Contact us today if you wish to get the modern version of the letters patent by means of a patent grant for your invention in South Africa or abroad.
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