"The Congress shall have power . . . to promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writing and discoveries" - United Sates Constitution
In the United States, patent law dates to 1641, when the first patents for inventions were issued by the Massachusetts Bay Colony for the manufacture of salt. The Constitution of the United States, which became effective in 1789, gave the U.S. Congress the power to enact federal patent laws. Congress adopted the first patent law in 1790 as one of its first actions.
Jewelry patents have been granted to jewelry manufacturers and artisans since 1850 for protection against copying by competitors. For precious and non precious jewelry there are design and utility patents. Design patents are used to protect the way an article looks, while a utility patent protects the way an article is used and works. Design and utility patents have separate numbering systems and utility patents far outweigh the number of design patents. Utility patents have a duration of 17 years while design patents have a maximum duration of 7 years with a standard duration of only 3-1/2 years. Many companies did not use patents. Since many of the designs were not meant to be produced for more than one season, it didn't make sense to get the protection of a patent since the production run would be over by the time the patent was approved. The cost associated with patents, which could run $60 and up, the short duration of patents as well as the ability for competitors to easily defeat the patent by making minor changes in the design are other reasons companies didn't apply for patents. Dating jewelry by patents is somewhat problematic. Mechanisms from utility designs cover nearly two decades of production, so you can know approximately when the mechanism first came into use, but it does not necessarily tell you when your article of jewery was made. Design patent's shorter time frame provides more accurate dating, however, a company may have continued to use that design for as long as it continued to sell even though the patent protection may have elapsed. The need for patents was reduced when copyright law was amended in 1947 to allow jewelry manufacturers to copyright their jewelry designs. Manufacturers were slow to use this new protection until 1955 when Trifari Co.successfully brought suit against the The Charel Jewelry Company. Trifari accused them of copyright infringement in their "Bolero" costume jewelry designs. Copyrights are less expensive, approved faster and last much longer than patents. It was around this time that most jewelry and especially costume jewelry companies started using the copyright symbol next to their company name. Although patents fell out of favor with many of the large jewelry companies, their legacy is a fascinating and unique perspective into the the fashions of the times.