What is a patent
A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The patent grant excludes others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention in the United States. The patent grant further excludes others from importing the invention into the United States.
Once a patent is issued, the patentee must enforce the patent without aid of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The right conferred by the patent grant extends throughout the United States. The terms "Patent Pending" and "Patent Applied For" are used to inform the public that an application for a patent has been filed. Patent protection does not start until the actual grant of a patent.
Generally, the term of a new utility 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, subject to the payment of maintenance fees.
Some of the information provided herein was obtained from the United States Patent and Trademark website, www.uspto.gov. For further information, see the Patent Office inventor resources at http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/iip/index.htm.
