A patent is a form of intellectual property that gives an inventor the legal right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing an invention for a limited period of time. In exchange for these exclusive rights, the inventor must disclose, in a patent application, how the invention is made, used and\/or how it works.<\/p>\n
Patents are designed to encourage innovation. By giving inventors a period of protection for their creations, the patent system provides an incentive to invest time, money, and effort into developing new products, processes, and technologies.<\/p>\n
Generally, a patent may be granted for a new and useful invention. Depending on the type of patent, this may include:<\/p>\n
\n- Machines and products \u2013 such as tools, devices, and manufactured products<\/li>\n
- Processes and methods \u2013 including new ways of making or doing something<\/li>\n
- Manufactured articles \u2013 new and original designs or functional products<\/li>\n
- Compositions of matter \u2013 such as chemical compounds and pharmaceutical formulations<\/li>\n
- Ornamental designs \u2013 the unique visual appearance of a product<\/li>\n
- New plant varieties \u2013 certain newly invented or discovered and asexually reproduced plants<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
To qualify for patent protection, an invention generally must meet legal requirements relating to usefulness, novelty, and non-obviousness.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>