I.

Introduction

Patent, a legal document granted by the government giving an inventor the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing an invention for a specified number of years. In the United States, patents last for 20 years, starting from the date the application for the patent is first filed. The goal of the patent system is to encourage inventors to advance the state of technology by awarding them special rights to benefit from their inventions.

Patent law is one branch of the larger legal field known as intellectual property, which also includes trademark and copyright law. Patent protection has great economic importance to a number of industries that rely on technological innovation to remain competitive, such as the chemical, pharmaceutical, and computer industries.

The U.S. government grants patents for machines; compositions of matter, such as new chemical compounds to be used in industry; manufactured items; and industrial processes, provided they meet a number of strict legal tests. Patents are also available for significant improvements on previously invented items. Special patents can be obtained for the invention or discovery and asexual reproduction of certain distinct and new types of vegetation. Patents may also be granted for certain types of industrial designs, such as a distinct tread pattern on the soles of hiking boots or tennis shoes. Computer programs have been granted patent protection, as have various living organisms, such as specialized mice that were bred to help in cancer research. In recent years the government has also allowed inventors to obtain patents on new ways of doing business, such as the method for conducting an auction on the Internet. Books, movies, and works of art cannot be patented, but protection is available for such items under the law of copyright.