what patent means?

A patent is a form of intellectual property that provides exclusive rights to an inventor for a limited period of time, typically 20 years from the filing date, in exchange for disclosing the details of their invention to the public. With a patent, the inventor can prevent others from making, using, selling, or importing the invention without their permission.

The purpose of a patent is to encourage innovation by providing inventors with a way to protect their ideas and investments in research and development. By granting exclusive rights to inventors, patents encourage innovation and investment in new ideas, which can lead to new products and technologies that benefit society as a whole.

Patents can be granted for a wide range of inventions, including products, processes, machines, and new uses for known products or processes. To be eligible for a patent, an invention must be new, non-obvious, and useful. In other words, it must not have been disclosed to the public before, it must not be an obvious development from existing technology, and it must have some practical application.

The process of obtaining a patent involves filing a patent application with the relevant government agency and undergoing a review process to determine if the invention meets the requirements for a patent. If a patent is granted, the inventor must enforce their patent rights through the courts if necessary, in order to prevent infringement.