A patent is a property right granted by the federal government. It provides an inventor with an exclusive right to exclude all others from making, using, or selling the invention for a limited period of time, usually 17 years. In effect, a patent is a reward for the expertise, time, and effort expended in developing an invention.
Patent applications are confidential.
When a patent is issued, the information in the patent application becomes public. According to U.S. law, a patent may be obtained by whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufactured article, or composition of matter, or any new or useful improvement thereof. Inventions that are not patentable include laws of nature, methods of doing business, theories, printed materials, plans of action, ideas, and results. The term process refers to a method or mode of treatment. It is an act or series of acts performed on materials to produce a result.