[mymythisisthis]

Guilds would get the right to do something by the government, to the exclusion of others. Such as the haberdasher guild, that had the right to sew and no one else could sew commercially.

Patent was invented to break the guilds. A guild member could reveal a technology publicly, and get a 10 year right to use it. This was to make progress go faster, as guilds kept technology secret.