>The very word "patent" means "open". I was really surprised by that. So when Elizabeth I sold a patent for the monopoly of salt to some duke in order to rais

>The very word "patent" means "open". I was really surprised by that. So when Elizabeth I sold a patent for the monopoly of salt to some duke in order to raise gold for the crown the word "patent" meant that it was a public rather than a secret decree. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letters_patent https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letters_patent