A patent provides protection for an invention to the owner of the patent. The protection is granted for a limited period, generally 20 years. Patent protection means that the invention cannot be commercially made, used, distributed or sold without the patent owner's consent.
Select an Issue
TAP Academics
View all academics with expertise in Patents
TAP Blog
Harvard’s Josh Lerner and Stanford’s Amit Seru share findings from their recent work with Nick Short and Yuan Sun to identify who the innovators and patent awardees are within the financial technology sector.
April 7, 2022
View all blog posts about Patents
Fact Sheets
A patent provides an exclusive legal right to an invention for a limited period of time, in exchange for public disclosure of that innovation. As with other property rights, patents may be sold, transferred, or licensed for a third party’s use.
View all fact sheets about Patents
Quote
"The best way to resolve this issue is not to change policy approaches." — Mark Lemley, Professor of Law, Stanford University
View all academics' quotes on Patents
Featured Article
Some scholars have proposed prize or reward systems to encourage inventors and creators, as an alternative to the current intellectual property system. Designing prize and reward systems is challenging.
August 30, 2019
View all articles on Patents