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WHAT IS A PATENT?
A patent is the grant of a property right by the federal government to an
inventor. A patent gives "negative" rights to its owner. Instead of the right to
make, use, sell, or import an invention, a patent is the right to exclude others
from these activities. In general, a patent lasts 20 years from the date on
which the application for it was filed.
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WHAT CAN BE PATENTED?
A new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or a
new or useful improvement thereof, may be patented. Essentially, the items that
can be patented encompass most man-made products and the processes for making
them.
"Usefulness" means having a useful purpose and, in the case of a machine, being
operable for the intended purpose.
The subject of a patent must also be non-obvious. "Non-obvious" means that the
invention is different enough from existing technology and knowledge that it
would not be obvious to a person with skill in the field.
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WHAT CANNOT BE PATENTED?
Laws of nature, physical phenomena, and abstract ideas cannot be patented. For
example, a patent can be granted for a new machine, but not on the idea or
suggestion of the new machine.
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