Before patents were introduced, there was a high risk of someone freely making use of your invention to make a living and this discouraged many bright minds from coming up with inventions. As a way to motivate and protect the interests of inventors, the patent law was established. Since the establishment of patent laws, there has been a drastic increase in inventions. With patent law, no one can use your invention for money gains without signing an agreement with you.
A patent refers to a legal manuscript that provides protection to an invention against use, copy or similar manufacture by another person or inventor without the consent of the inventor. A patent protects the invention rights of the inventor. The protection does not last forever, but different inventions have different protection periods. Upon expiry of patent, the invention can no longer be protected. Three main categories of patents exist. There are utility patents, design patents and plant patents as you can see from https://www.harlemworldmagazine.com/why-inventhelp-is-such-a-valuable-resource-for-inventors/.
Utility patents offer protection to machine inventions, process inventions as well as inventions in biological and chemical composition matter. Design patents offer protection to aesthetic innovations and ornamental designs while plant patents protect the rights of new plant discoverers through asexual reproduction.
The patent that is most applied as well as granted is the first category-utility patent. This patent lasts for twenty years beginning from the date of application. The remaining two categories of patents are not as common as utility patent. Design patents have a lifespan of 14 years while plant patents have a lifespan of 20 years. Only the inventor can place an application for patent.
Patent law came into being to protect the rights of inventors as well as encourage continued innovations. Patent is an extremely complex field and hence inventors are advised to seek the help of patent agencies, such as InventHelp, or lawyers before placing applications for patent.