patent – n : a grant by the United States federal government or a foreign government to an entity (individual inventor, company or organization) giving the entity the exclusive right to produce and sell an invention for a given period of time. Federal patent law identifies the specific rights of a patent holder for different types of patents.

– v : the act of applying for and receiving a patent for an invention or piece of intellectual property (e.g., “I intend to patent my new invention.”)

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Adapted from "The CompanyCrafters Entrepreneur's Dictionary"
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