Changes

A '''patent''' grants certain rights to an invention to a inventor. Among the rights conveyed is the exclusive right to utilize the invention named in the patent.  This gives an incentive for inventing useful things, as the inventor can earn fees, also known as royalties,  by obtaining a patent and then licensing it to others.  There are several types of patents.

A '''patent''' is a legal document that protects an inventor's exclusivity to his invention.  This gives an incentive for inventing useful things, as the inventor can earn fees, also known as royalties,  by obtaining a patent and then licensing it to others.  There are several types of patents.

The right conferred by the patent grant is, in the language of the American patent statute and of the grant itself, "the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling" the invention in the United States or "importing" the invention into the United States. What is granted is not the right to make, use, offer for sale, sell or import, but the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the invention. Once a patent is issued, the patentee must enforce the patent without aid of the U.S. Paten and Trademark Office.<ref>http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/index.html#patent</ref>

The patent right is, in the language of the American patent statute, "the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling" the invention in the United States or "importing" the invention into the United States. What is protected is not the right to make, use, offer for sale, sell or import, but the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the invention. Once a patent is issued, the patentee must enforce the patent without aid of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.<ref>http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/index.html#patent</ref>

There are three types of patents:

There are three types of patents: