The Pros And Cons Of Patents In The United States

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What are patents you may ask? To begin with, patents “are a property right granted by the federal government that gives an inventor an exclusive right to make, use, sell, or offer to sell an invention in the United States for a limited time” (Miller 142). It is a form of intellectual property which encourages individuals the development and creativity of their ideas. Patents are concerned with products or process which are new, something of which the public does not know before the patent is filed. Patent rights, although are used worldwide, the laws differ in other countries. (Miller). There are many advantages and disadvantages of patenting procedures from the past and present. In the past, the United States granted patent protection to the first person who invented a given product or process, even though another individual may have already filed for a patent on the same product or process. Now, a new law grants the individual that files, a patent protection. It is important to be knowledgeable in both the advantages and disadvantages of patents before applying. …show more content…

Advantages of having patent protection is it gives you the legal right to intervene others from using your invention. A patent holder can even sell the patent at a price they believe is suitable for the invention. If there is a patent infringement, then the defendant would have to pay the patent holder. There are many consequences of patent infringement, from a lawsuit being filed against the defendant, to reimbursing the patent holder, to covering the damages. With benefits in anything, there are always drawbacks. While patents provided plenty of merit, they require certain conditions. These conditions can prove to be