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Patents give an inventor or business corporation
legal right to own their invention. This means
patent holder now has a legal monopoly and can do with it, what s/he desires for
life of
patent. U.S. patents are good for twenty years from
date
patent was requested. This can be extended, but is difficult to do. And, payments to
government must be made throughout
life of
patent (usually 20 years).
An inventor may sell all their rights to
patent, or may opt to sell only a certain part of it. When
patent holder licenses his or her product to a manufacturer, for example, he or she receives royalties based on
sale of
product or invention.
The phrase "patent pending" has no legal hold, but simply means that an individual or corporation is in
act of patenting a certain product. If an item already has a patent on it, then
copying of this item is infringement. The patent holder can file a claim to sue
accused. =========================================================== Discover valuable advice and information about patent searches and applications. Website contains useful articles about us patent searches & applications Click ==> http://www.us-patentsearch.com/

Paul Johnson works as a software developer. Over the last ten years, he's made a variety of inventions which he's patented. He shares his experiences and advice in a series of articles about us patent searches and patent applications.