Unlike copyrights, trademark rights are national, not international. Therefore, registration in one country does not confer rights in other countries. Often, however, a trademark may be entitled to registration in another country based on a previous United States registration. Patents There are three different types of patents. Design patents protect novel, non-functional design elements.
Plant patents protect asexually reproducible plants.
Utility patents, the most common type of patent, are often referred to simply as patents. Utility patents provide protection for useful inventions, which may be processes, machines, articles of manufacture, or compositions of matter. A patent permits a patentee to exclude others from making, selling, or using the patented invention and from importing the patented invention or an article made by a patented process into the United States. Unlike copyrights, others may be excluded from practicing a patented invention whether or not they copied the invention from the patentee. Independent invention is no defense to patent infringement.