Patent
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
A patent is a right given by a government to a person or company that has made an invention.
When someone has invented for instance a new engine, he can ask the government for a patent. If the invention was not known before and the idea is not too simple, the government will give him a patent.
The patentee (owner of the patent) can ask a court to stop others who are making, selling or importing the invention.
The invention will be published by the government, the word 'patent' is also used for this published document. The patentee has to pay the government a tax. A patent is only valid in the country or countries that gave the patent, and normally for not more than 20 years.
Patents most often cover products or processes that contain ‘new’ functional or technical ideas. They are concerned with how things work, how they are made or what they are made of. Patents cover many different things such as electronics, medicines, agriculture and transport – anything in fact from a small detail in an electric switch to an entire power station.
Often a product is marked with a text saying 'patent pending’ or 'pat. pending', which means that a patent has been asked for (part of) the product. Then people are warned that they should not copy the invention.