Look up patent in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

A patent is an intellectual property right covering an invention.

Patent can also refer to the following:

Types of patents

• Utility patent for inventions that do something useful such as apparatus, methods, processes, and new chemicals, plants, animals, bacteria, and genes
• Design patent for an ornamental design or shape
• Utility model also known as a "petty patent," "innovation patent," "minor patent," or "small patent"
• Plant Patent Act, a legislation allowing plant breeds to be patented in the United States

Other uses

• Letters patent
• Patent leather
• Land grant (also referred to as a "patent")
• Patented mining claim
• A type of bet offered by UK bookmakers
• As an adjective:
  • In biology: open, unobstructed, expanded, e.g. patent ductus arteriosus
  • Explicit and obvious

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