What Is A Patent?

A patent is the grant of a property right to the inventor. Patents are issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Generally, the term of a new patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States or, in special cases, from the date an earlier related application was filed. U.S. patents are effective only within the United States, U.S. territories, and U.S. possessions. Patent protection may also be obtained in foreign countries if timely application is made.

The right conferred by the patent is the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention in the United States or importing the invention into the United States. In other words, what is granted is not the right to make, use, offer for sale, sell or import, but the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the invention. Once a patent is issued, it is up to the owner of the patent, in other words the "patentee," to enforce the patent.