America is full of inventors. Each year, about 370,830 patents are issued, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Patents enable inventors in the U.S. to “exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling…or importing” an invention they create, per the USPTO. And since the country’s start, Americans have been innovating.

The history of patents in the U.S. dates back to July 31, 1790. President George Washington signed the first patent to a man named Samuel Hopkins.

The creation of American patents

Patents in the U.S. were vaguely referenced in the Constitution. When it was ratified in 1788, a clause on intellectual property was included.

Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 reads: “[The Congress shall have Power . . . ] To........

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