Hede.io Entry: Patent
Patent is a legal monopoly
granted by the government
under intellectual property law
. Exclusive rights
under patent law
are given to an inventor
to prevent others from making, using, or selling an invention
for a limited period of time before the invention falls into the public domain
. Once in the public domain an invention can be used without license
by anybody.
Patents for inventions, including details of how the inventions work, are public record
(exceptions may include patents that are classified under the Invention Secrecy Act of 1951
). Because of this required public disclosure exclusive rights are used to encourage inventors to reveal how an invention works on the application for a patent.
Examples for what patents are granted for include, but are not limited to, new and useful machines
, chemical compounds
, manufactured products
, medicinal products
and industrial processes
. Patents can also be granted for significant improvements of existing inventions already under patent.
Photo Source: patentceo-review.info
Posted on HEDE - A dictionary for sharing knowledge in a friendly way
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