Toggle open close
Intellectual property has been a key part of American exceptionalism the unique commitment in our political and legal institutions to natural rights and the rule of law as secured by a government of limited powers.REF When the Framers authorized Congress to secure patents and copyrights in the United States Constitution, it was unprecedented. No country’s founding document had done this before. As other intellectual property rights such as trademarks and trade secrets evolved in the 19th century, they too were secured by the unique American approach to securing all property rights in legal institutions governed by the rule of law.REF