Guild Secret (Lorica)

Patenting
The guilds of Lorica are very possessive of their intellectual secrets, and patent anything they can. Generally this includes anything related to:


 * the establishment and structure of the guilds and their orders;
 * their discoveries of what types of moieta each species of faera possesses;
 * methodologies for preserving, husbanding and generating additional mana and moieta;
 * technologies in support of creating spells, including but not limited to control and permissioning and engineering;
 * spell effects

Some of these patents are held by all the guilds; most are held by the individual guilds, and focus on the particular moieties and spells that make each guild distinct. The patents provide an extra level of protection for the guilds, in addition to their allegiances with other guilds, their use of specialization, and their orders of spellcasters.

The patents are secrets - their contents are not shared with the general public. It is generally impossible for anyone, except those in the guilds’ IP enforcement associations and relevant court officials, from knowing the details. Hence sects will generally not know what exactly the guilds have claimed as their intellectual property, thereby making it hard for their spellshapers to work around them. The general public will generally not be aware of just how all-encompassing and broad the guilds’ intellectual property claims really are.