A patent is an exclusive right granted to an invention, which is a product or process that generally provides a new way of doing something or offers a new technical solution to a problem. It is the granting of a right of ownership by a sovereign authority to an inventor, giving them exclusive rights to the patented process, design, or invention for a designated period in exchange for comprehensive disclosure of the invention. There are different types of patent applications so that inventors can protect different types of inventions. A provisional patent gives inventors an additional year to decide whether and how to file a useful patent.
Patents are granted for a limited time, for example, 20 years from the date of filing of plant and utility patents and 14 or 15 years for design patents. Protecting your intellectual property is essential for any inventor, and applying for a patent is one way to do this. Before a person can obtain a license as an attorney or patent agent, they must have a degree in certain technical or scientific fields. If the court agrees, it may grant the patent owner costs, attorney's fees, damages in an amount equivalent to a reasonable royalty and a court order (an order that prohibits another person from infringing the patent).
It is important to note that each patent application will be unique and simply studying these examples will not guarantee the success of a patent application. An inventor who knows patents and understands how best to use them has a huge advantage when it comes to protecting his invention. Design patents are patents issued for original, new and ornamental designs of manufactured products.
