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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.