A patent is an official document given by a national government to an inventor (or business or corporation) who wishes to have sole rights over a product for a limited amount of time. Once the patent is granted, no one else has the right to make, sell, market, or profit from the invention.

In the United States, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) allows inventors and patent owners (including businesses and corporations) to protect their products and identification from others. Information can be found at http://www.uspto.gov

Not just anything can be patented. In fact, obtaining a patent may prove difficult given the necessary paperwork, research and signatures needed. In order to obtain one, the invention has to be brand new. This new invention has to also be useful, original, and not easily created. In the United States, these products might be machines, compositions or methods, and manufactured products. Ideas cannot be patented, nor can products that have been "improved" or which have "changed" in size.

Plant patents, which protect non-pollinating plants, utility patents that protect regular, new inventions, and design patents, which protect the look or creativity of a tangible product, are examples of the types of patents that exist under the USPTO.

Patents give an inventor or business corporation the legal right to own their invention. This means the patent holder now has a legal monopoly and can do with it, what s/he desires for the life of the patent. U.S. patents are good for twenty years from the date the patent was requested. This can be extended, but is difficult to do. And, payments to the government must be made throughout the life of the patent (usually 20 years).

An inventor may sell all their rights to the patent, or may opt to sell only a certain part of it. When the patent holder licenses his or her product to a manufacturer, for example, he or she receives royalties based on the sale of the product or invention.

The phrase "patent pending" has no legal hold, but simply means that an individual or corporation is in the act of patenting a certain product. If an item already has a patent on it, then the copying of this item is infringement. The patent holder can file a claim to sue the accused.