Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is the time when we salute workers and recognize them for their contributions to this country and the economy. Celebrations are held all over and, whether in the form of a parade, picnic or a barbeque, it is important to reflect on this holiday.
One of the biggest supporters of labor and intellectual property was Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln was once quoted as saying “I always thought that the man who made the corn should also eat the corn.”
As an attorney and patent holder himself (U.S. Patent No. 6,469), Lincoln was involved in all facets of intellectual property from invention to prosecution. He had a profound understanding of the need for patent and copyright protection and the ability to connect intellectual property to a person’s right to the fruits of their labor. He was one of the biggest advocates of free labor and a strong opponent of slavery. In 1847, Lincoln conveyed the free labor axiom when he stated that “each individual is naturally entitled to do as he pleases with himself and the fruit of his labor.”
In many of Lincoln’s speeches, he discussed and endorsed the need for greater protection of intellectual property rights. In his 1858 lecture on Discoveries and Inventions, Lincoln stated “man is not the only animal who labors; but he is the only one who improves his workmanship. This improvement, he effects by Discoveries, and Inventions.” This lecture detailed the many achievements that had been accomplished in the areas of “writing and of printing, the discovery of America, and the introduction of Patent laws.” Lincoln commended the patent system, stating that before patent laws were introduced “any man might instantly use what another had invented; so that the inventor had no special advantage from his own invention. The patent system changed this; secured to the inventor, for a limited time, the exclusive use of his invention; and thereby added the fuel of interest to the fire of genius, in the discovery and production of new and useful things.”
In 1859, at the Wisconsin State Fair, in front of the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society, Lincoln tied patent rights to free labor. He praised the intellectual property clause which protected inventions, specifically those critical to farming and said “that no other human occupation opens so wide a field for the profitable and agreeable combination of labor with cultivated thought”. This is a perfect testament to intellectual property. By rewarding authors and inventors for the works they have created, whether that be patents, copyrights or works of arts, it all leads to the stimulation of self-improvement and society as a whole can benefit from that intellectual progress.
This time each year, we reflect on and honor the work of laborers in our country. It is fitting to reflect on the words of Abraham Lincoln: “I know of nothing so pleasant to the mind, as the discovery of anything which is at once new and valuable — nothing which so lightens and sweetens toil, as the hopeful pursuit of such discovery.”