A patent is a right granted by the government to the patent owner. This right lasts for twenty years from the date that you first file your patent application. Essentially, the government grants you these rights as an incentive, to encourage and reward you for investing your time and energy in creating your invention.
Patents generally last twenty years before whatever you have invented becomes public domain and can be copied or used freely without anyone having to pay for it. There are ways to extend the life of your patent, such as by using a provisional patent or by getting an extension from the government. Generally though, you can expect your patent to last twenty years from the date that the application was filed. There are agencies, like Invent Help, that could guide you in the process.
The main benefit of patent ownership is that you have a legal monopoly on your invention. You can make money from your invention by: making and selling your own invention, or licensing your invention to others so that they have to pay you for the right to make, use or sell your invention. In other words, the real benefit of owning a patent is that it allows you to make money from your invention while preventing others from copying your idea and competing with you.
In order to be considered as patentable subject matter, your invention must relate to a process, a machine, an article of manufacture, a composition of matter, or an improvement thereof. In short, a product or process.
Assuming that your invention contains patentable subject matter, there are three requirements that must be met in order to receive a patent. First, your invention must have “utility”, which means that it must be useful. Second, it must have “novelty”, which means it must be new, or an advance over existing products or processes. And third, it must be “non-obvious”, which means it must involve more than a simple and obvious change to an existing product or process.
A patent, when done correctly, guarantees that the inventor gets the sole credit for his/her invention and all of the benefits to go with it, such as royalties, the rights to sell his/her invention, and the right to sue anyone who tries to copy it and sell it. Getting support from InventHelp is recommended.The main point of having a patent is to trademark your product or idea so no one else can gain benefits from it.
