Patents
A patent is a property right granted to an inventor in exchange for the inventor’s disclosure of his/her invention. “Utility” patents can be obtained to protect processes, machines, articles of manufacture, and compositions. A U.S. patent grants its owner the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, and offering the patented invention within the U.S. However, a patent will be granted only if the invention (a) is novel, new, and unique, (b) is unobvious in view of what has been done previously, and (c) was not used in public or offered for sale more than one year before filing the application.