| WHAT IS A
PATENT?
A Patent is a federal grant, based on an invention, which gives the holder
the right to exclude others from making, using, or selling the invention
for a limited period of time. In the United States, the term of a patent
filed before June 8, 1996 is 17 years from the date that a patent is issued.
Due to changes in patent law, the term for patents filed after June 8,
1996 is 20 years from the date that the patent application is filed. |