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22 Ill. L. Rev. 355 (1927-1928)
Scientific Property

handle is hein.journals/illlr22 and id is 369 raw text is: ILLINOIS LAW REVIEW Volume XXII DECEMBER, 1927 Number 4 SCIENTIFIC PROPERTY By JonN H. WIGMORE* AND FRANcEsco RUFFINIt A. THE PROBLEM 1. In the United States of America the number of letters patent issued for industrial inventions is already far' beyond the million mark. It is increasing at the rate of nearly fifty thousand annually. This nation is undoubtedly the most inventive in the world. And yet it has taken no interest, thus far, in the encouragement and reward of the inventor's pace-maker and helpmate-the scientific discoverer. The nations of Europe, on the other hand, have for some years past been bestirring themselves on his behalf, seek- ing a, solution for the problem, how to recognize legally and reward materially the scientific discoverer? 2. In all other countries, indeed, as well as in our own, the law of intellectual property-patents and copyrights-has hitherto failed to give this recognition. Discoveries of principle are dis- tinguished from inventions materially employing a principle; the latter may be protected by the property right of a patent; the former may not. This historical distinction has been justified, ex post facto, by the modern jurists, with the usual pious verbiage about natural law. It is a law of nature (says our best authority, Robinson), that men should profit by the discoveries and inventions of each other. This is the law which binds society together; . . . and the *Professor of Law in Northwestern University. tPresident of the Royal Academy at Turin; Senator of the Kingdom of Italy; Professor of Ecclesiastical Law at the University of Turin; former Minister 'of Public Education; President of the Union of Associations for the League of Nations. [3551

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