(This article first appeared in IPWatchDog)

The need for strong protection of intellectual property rights is greater now than it was at the dawn of our republic. Our Forefathers and the Framers of the U.S. Constitution recognized the need to secure those rights in Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8. James Madison provides insight for its significance in the Federalist Papers No. 43 (the only reference to the clause). It is contained in the first Article section dedicated to the enumerated powers of Congress. The clause recognizes the need for: uniformity of the protection of IP rights, securing those rights for the individual rather than the state; and, incentivizing innovation and creative aspirations.

Underlying this particular enumerated power of Congress is the same struggle that the Framers grappled with throughout the document for the new republic: how to promote a unified republic while protecting individual liberty. The fear of tyranny and protection of the “natural law” individual liberty is a driving theme for the Constitution and throughout the Federalist Papers. For example, in Federalist No. 10, James Madison articulated the important recognition of the “faction” impact on a democracy and a republic. In Federalist No. 51, Madison emphasized the importance of the separation of powers among the three branches of the republic. And in Federalist No. 78, Alexander Hamilton, provided his most significant essay, which described the judiciary as the weakest branch of government and sought the protection of its independence providing the underpinnings for judicial review as recognized thereafter in Marbury v. Madison.

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