SE 1700/CORE 1000: Engineering Fundamentals

What is a patent?
From the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO):
"A U.S. patent gives you, the inventor, the right to “exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling” an invention or “importing” it into the U.S....What is granted is not the right to make, use, offer for sale, sell or import the invention, but the right to stop others from doing so. If someone infringes on your patent, you may initiate legal action. U.S. patents are effective only within the U.S. and its territories and possessions."

What can be patented?
From the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO):
"Your invention must meet four conditions:

1. Able to be used (the invention must work and cannot just be a theory)
2. A clear description of how to make and use the invention
3. New, or “novel” (something not done before)
4. “Not obvious,” as related to a change to something already invented"