Brunelleschi and Galilei: Super-Early Patents in Florence and Venice

The Italian Renaissance cities are commonly considered the birthplace of patent law. In particular, Filippo Brunelleschi, the architect of the Santa Maria del Fiore dome in Florence, received a grant in 1421 which is commonly considered the first Patent of Invention in the world. Venice, on the other hand, passed the world's first patent law in 1474. The act contains all elements of a full patent regulation, even measured by today's standards; Galileo Galilei received a patent under this act in 1594. Both inventors were not overly successful with their ideas, though.