Editing Patent

'''Patent'''

A '''[[Patent]]''' is a form of [[intellectual property]] that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an [[invention]] for a limited period of years in exchange for publishing an enabling public disclosure of the invention. In most countries, patent rights fall under [[civil law]] and the patent holder needs to sue someone infringing the patent in order to enforce his or her rights.

== History ==

The procedure for granting patents, requirements placed on the patentee, and the extent of the exclusive rights vary widely between countries according to national laws and international agreements. Typically, however, a granted patent application must include one or more [[claims]] that define the invention. A patent may include many claims, each of which defines a specific property right. These claims must meet relevant patentability requirements, such as [[novelty]], [[usefulness]], and [[non-obviousness]].

== Types of patents ==

There are three types of patents: utility patents, design patents, and plant patents.

=== Utility patents ===

A '''[[Utility patent]]''' may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof.

=== Design patents ===

A '''[[Design patent]]''' is a form of legal protection granted to the ornamental design of a functional item.

=== Plant patents ===

A '''[[Plant patent]]''' is granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office to an inventor (or the inventor's heirs or assigns) who has invented or discovered and asexually reproduced a distinct and new variety of plant.

== See also ==

* [[Copyright]]
* [[Trademark]]
* [[Trade secret]]

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Patents]]
[[Category:Intellectual property law]]
[[Category:Legal terms]]

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<gallery>
File:US_Patent_cover_(US_Patent_5,860,492).jpg|US Patent Cover
File:Venetian_Patent_Statute_1474.png|Venetian Patent Statute 1474
File:Puckle_gun_advertisement.jpg|Puckle Gun Advertisement
File:Participation_of_women_inventors_in_PCT_Applications_2009-2023.png|Participation of Women Inventors in PCT Applications 2009-2023
File:Number_of_patent_families_published_by_different_authorities_vs._earliest_priority_date.png|Number of Patent Families Published by Different Authorities vs. Earliest Priority Date
File:Ejector_seat_with_patents_cropped.jpg|Ejector Seat with Patents
File:Patent_Applications.svg|Patent Applications
</gallery>