From the course: Understanding Intellectual Property

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What does a patent look like?

What does a patent look like?

From the course: Understanding Intellectual Property

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What does a patent look like?

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- What does a patent look like, and what does it give you? Well, a patent application is a document that you file with the Patent Office, and it includes a variety of components. It includes a description of what you claim is your patent. It includes some drawings. It may include some background about the invention, and then it will include a section that we call the claims. These numbered paragraphs claim something specific that you believe you're entitled to a patent on. The claims are effectively the patents. If you have 20 claims issued, even in one patent registration, you may have the equivalent of 20 patents. Each one is independently protectable, and you can sue for infringement of just one claim within your patent. What does a patent get you? It gets you a 20-year monopoly for the thing that's listed in your claims. If you have an issued patent for a process or a device, then for 20 years you have the right to stop other people from doing the same thing. That's what you get…

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