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Letters patent (pl. letters patent; ) are a type of legal instrument
Legal instrument

Legal instrument is a law term of art that is used for any written legal document such as a certificate, a deed, a will , an Act of Parliament or a law passed by a competent legislative body in municipal or international law....
 in the form of an open letter
Open letter

An open letter is a Letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally....
 issued by a monarch or government
Government

Government is the body within any organization that has the authority to make and the power to enforce laws, regulations, or rules. Typically, the government refers to a civil government -- local, provincial, or national -- but commercial, academic, religious, or other formal organizations are also administered by governing bodies....
, granting an office, right, monopoly
Government-granted monopoly

In economics, a government-granted monopoly is a form of coercive monopoly by which a government grants exclusive privilege to a private individual or firm to be the sole provider of a good or service; potential competitors are excluded from the market by law, regulation, or other mechanisms of government enforcement....
, title, or status to a person or to some entity such as a corporation
Corporation

A corporation is a legal entity separate from the persons that form it. It is a legal entity owned by individual stockholders. In British tradition it is the term designating a body corporate, where it can be either a corporation sole or a corporation aggregate ....
. The opposite of letters patent are letters close
Letters close

Letters close are a type of legal document which is a closed letter issued by a monarch or government granting a right, monopoly, title, or status to someone or some entity such as a corporation....
 , which are personal in nature and sealed so that only the recipient can read their contents.

Letters patent can be used for the granting of city status or coats of arms
Heraldry

Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of devising, granting, and blazoning Coat of arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms....
, for the creation of corporation
Corporation

A corporation is a legal entity separate from the persons that form it. It is a legal entity owned by individual stockholders. In British tradition it is the term designating a body corporate, where it can be either a corporation sole or a corporation aggregate ....
s, or by a government to create an office.






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Letters patent (pl. letters patent; ) are a type of legal instrument
Legal instrument

Legal instrument is a law term of art that is used for any written legal document such as a certificate, a deed, a will , an Act of Parliament or a law passed by a competent legislative body in municipal or international law....
 in the form of an open letter
Open letter

An open letter is a Letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally....
 issued by a monarch or government
Government

Government is the body within any organization that has the authority to make and the power to enforce laws, regulations, or rules. Typically, the government refers to a civil government -- local, provincial, or national -- but commercial, academic, religious, or other formal organizations are also administered by governing bodies....
, granting an office, right, monopoly
Government-granted monopoly

In economics, a government-granted monopoly is a form of coercive monopoly by which a government grants exclusive privilege to a private individual or firm to be the sole provider of a good or service; potential competitors are excluded from the market by law, regulation, or other mechanisms of government enforcement....
, title, or status to a person or to some entity such as a corporation
Corporation

A corporation is a legal entity separate from the persons that form it. It is a legal entity owned by individual stockholders. In British tradition it is the term designating a body corporate, where it can be either a corporation sole or a corporation aggregate ....
. The opposite of letters patent are letters close
Letters close

Letters close are a type of legal document which is a closed letter issued by a monarch or government granting a right, monopoly, title, or status to someone or some entity such as a corporation....
 , which are personal in nature and sealed so that only the recipient can read their contents.

Letters patent can be used for the granting of city status or coats of arms
Heraldry

Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of devising, granting, and blazoning Coat of arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms....
, for the creation of corporation
Corporation

A corporation is a legal entity separate from the persons that form it. It is a legal entity owned by individual stockholders. In British tradition it is the term designating a body corporate, where it can be either a corporation sole or a corporation aggregate ....
s, or by a government to create an office. A particular form of letters patent has evolved into the modern patent
Patent

A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to an inventor or his assignee for a term of patent in exchange for a disclosure of an invention....
 granting exclusive rights in an invention
Invention

An invention is the creation of a new configuration, composition of matter, device, or process. Some inventions are based on pre-existing models or ideas....
. They are also common in printed diplomas and academic degree
Academic degree

A degree is any of a wide range of status levels conferred by institutions of higher education, such as University, normally as the result of successfully completing a program of study....
s from educational institutions.

Usually such documents begin with a salutation "to all to whom these presents shall come" or even just "to all and singular". However, a document starting with such a clause may merely be a deed poll
Deed poll

A deed poll is a Law document binding only to a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an active intention. It is, strictly speaking, not a contract because it binds only one party and expresses an intention instead of a promise....
.

In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 and countries formerly under that country's influence, letters patent are issued under the prerogative powers of the head of state ("royal prerogative
Royal Prerogative

The Royal Prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege, and immunity, recognised in common law and, sometimes, in Civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy as belonging to the Sovereign alone....
") and constitute a rare, if significant, form of legislation
Legislation

Legislation is law which has been promulgation by a legislature or other governing body. The term may refer to a single law, or the collective body of enacted law, while "statute" is also used to refer to a single law....
 without the consent of the parliament
Parliament

A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom....
. Letters patent may also be used to grant assent
Assent

Assent can refer to:* A Assent between Bekkevoort and Diest.* Offer and acceptance* Royal Assent...
 to legislation.

In the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, the forgery
Forgery

Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents , with the intent to deception. The similar crime of fraud is the crime of deceiving another, including through the use of objects obtained through forgery....
 of letters patent granted by the President
President of the United States

The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition....
 is a crime
Crime

Societies define Crime as the breach of one or more rules or laws for which some Government or force may ultimately prescribe a punishment.The word crime originates from the Latin crimen , from the Latin root cerno and Greek ????? = "I judge"....
 subject to fine and/or imprisonment up to ten years . Without letters patent a person is unable to assume an appointed office. Such prompted the Marbury v. Madison
Marbury v. Madison

Marbury v. Madison, is a landmark case in United States law. It formed thebasis for the exercise of judicial review in the United States under Article Three of the United States Constitution of the United States Constitution....
 suit where William Marbury
William Marbury

William Marbury was one of the famous "Midnight Judges". Due to John Adams's work in the night before he was to leave office, Marbury was to be appointed a Justice of the Peace in the District of Columbia....
 and three others petitioned the United States Supreme Court to order James Madison
James Madison

James Madison was an American politician and political philosopher who served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States , and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States....
 to deliver their letters for appointments made under the previous administration.

See also

  • Royal Charter
    Royal Charter

    A royal charter is a charter granted by a Monarch to create institutions or other forms of incorporated bodies . In the United Kingdom legal tradition a royal charter is in the form of letters patent....
  • Lettre de cachet
    Lettre de cachet

    In France history, lettres de cachet were letters signed by the List of French monarchs, countersigned by one of his ministers, and closed with the royal seal, or cachet....
  • Letters close
    Letters close

    Letters close are a type of legal document which is a closed letter issued by a monarch or government granting a right, monopoly, title, or status to someone or some entity such as a corporation....
  • Letter of marque
    Letter of marque

    A letter of marque is an official warrant or Letters patent from a government authorizing the designated agent to search, seize, or destroy specified assets or personnel belonging to a foreign party which has committed some offense under the Public international law against the assets or citizens of the issuing nation, and has usually been...
  • Patent
    Patent

    A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to an inventor or his assignee for a term of patent in exchange for a disclosure of an invention....
  • Patent of Toleration
    Patent of toleration

    The patent of toleration was an edict issued in 1781 by the Holy Roman Emperor, Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor. The Patent extended religious freedom to non-Catholic Christians living in Habsburg lands, including: Lutheranism, Calvinism, and the Eastern Orthodox Church....
  • Commissioning scroll
    Commissioning scroll

    A commission warrant, usually simply called a commission, is a formal document traditionally given to commissioned officers confirming their appointment and setting out their responsibilities....
  • Statute of Monopolies 1623
    Statute of Monopolies 1623

    England's Statute of Monopolies 1623 of 1623 , while generally condemning monopoly, provided the true and first inventor of a given item up to fourteen years of exclusive rights to their invention, provided that: ...?they be not contrary to the law nor mischievous to the state by raising prices of commodities at home, or hurt of trade, or generally...
    , an attempt to rein in the abuse of letters patent in England


External links



Examples of letters patent