 Historically , English patent law was based on custom and the common law , not on statute . It began as the Crown granted patents as a form of economic protection to ensure high industrial production . As gifts from the crown , there was no judicial review , oversight or consideration , and no actual law developed around patents . This practice came from the guilds , groups who were controlled by the Crown and held monopolies over particular industries . By the 14th century the economy of England was lagging behind that of other European nations , with the guilds too small to control industrial production successfully . To remedy this , Edward II began encouraging foreign workmen and inventors to settle in England , offering " letters of protection " that protected them from guild policy on the condition that they train English apprentices and pass on their knowledge . The first recorded letter of protection was given in 1331 . The letters did not grant a full monopoly ; rather they acted as an extended passport , allowing foreign workers to travel to England and practice their trade . An exceptional example ( considered the first full patent in England ) was issued to John of Utynam on 3 April 1449 , granting him a monopoly . Overseas , the practice of granting full industrial patents and monopolies became common in Italian states by the 1420s . 
