Most of the advances of technology on Earth today were created as a result of industrial entrepreneurship or commercial investments. These advances may not have occurred in the absence of sufficient protection existing in law to protect the fruits of their manual efforts, research or investments. This has usually taken the form of patents or, in the case of some countries, trade secrets. In the absence of the legal protection provided for these industrial property rights, it is probably safe to suggest that some of the technological developments one takes for granted today would not have taken place.
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