Background and terminology patent legal document granted by the government giving an inventor the exclusive right to make,use,and sell an invention for a specified number of years.In the United States,patents last for 20 years.The goal of the patent system is to encourage inventors to advance the state of technology by awarding them special rights to benefit from their inventions. 制价爱行蜀易大考Background and terminology Background and terminology patent legal document granted by the legal document granted by the government giving an inventor the government giving an inventor the exclusive right to make, use, and sell exclusive right to make, use, and sell an invention for a specified number of an invention for a specified number of years. In the United States, patents last years. In the United States, patents last for 20 years. The goal of the patent for 20 years. The goal of the patent system is to encourage inventors to system is to encourage inventors to advance the state of technology by advance the state of technology by awarding them special rights to benefit awarding them special rights to benefit from their inventions. from their inventions