patente

Patente is the term used in several languages, including Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese, to refer to a patent: a legal right granted by a government that permits the holder to exclude others from making, using, selling, or importing a claimed invention for a limited period. Patents are intended to encourage innovation by providing temporary exclusivity in exchange for public disclosure of the invention.

Patents can cover different kinds of innovations. Utility patents protect new and useful processes, machines, devices, or compositions. Design patents cover the ornamental or aesthetic aspects of a product. Some jurisdictions also grant plant patents for new varieties of plants. The protection does not confer ownership of the idea itself, only of the specific embodiment described in the patent claims.

To be patentable, an invention generally must be novel, involve an inventive step (non-obvious), and be capable of industrial application. Applications are filed with a national or regional patent office, and they undergo formal and substantive examination. The process may result in grant, with possible amendments, or rejection. Patent protection typically lasts around 20 years for utility patents, with design and plant patents often having different durations depending on the jurisdiction. Patent rights allow the owner to prohibit others from exploiting the claimed invention without consent, subject to exemptions, such as research use or compulsory licensing in certain circumstances.

Patents are governed by international and national frameworks, such as the Paris Convention and the Patent Cooperation Treaty, which facilitate filing across jurisdictions and set basic rules for priority and patent rights. The system aims to balance incentives for invention with access to knowledge and technology, a balance that influences policy debates around innovation, access, and pricing.