First U.S. Patent Issued

Date: July 31, 1790 • Location: Rome, Italy

The first U.S. patent is issued, to inventor Samuel Hopkins for a potash process.

A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time, in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention. It offers a bargain between society and inventor: for a limited period of exclusivity, the inventor agrees to make the invention public rather than to keep it secret. In most countries, patent rights fall under private law and the patent holder must sue someone infringing the patent in order to enforce their rights.