Patent

Patents are legally enforceable property rights granted by a government to a patentee (the inventor or assignee) in exchange for public disclosure of an invention (i.e. apparatus, method, substance etc.) which meets all of the requirements for patentability.  Patents grant the patentee a monopolistic right to exclude others from practicing the claimed invention for a set period of time (usually 20 years).  It is important to note that a patent does not necessarily grant the patentee the right to use, make, sell or import the invention but rather grants the patentee the right to exclude others from doing so.