patent laws
Defined in 1 dictionary — Case Law
Definitions from Case Law
From 60 U.S. 183 - John Brown v. _____ Duchesne · 1856Most cited · 331 citing opinions
The patent laws are authorized by that article in the Constitution which provides that Congress shall have power to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries. The power thus granted is domestic in its character, and necessarily confined within the limits of the United States. It confers no power on Congress to regulate commerce, or the vehicles of commerce, which belong to a foreign nation, and occasionally visit our ports in their commercial pursuits.