<P> A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state or intergovernmental organization to an inventor or assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for detailed public disclosure of an invention . An invention is a solution to a specific technological problem and is a product or a process . Patents are a form of intellectual property . </P>
patents to produce and sell inventions are conveyed by the federal government for a period ​ of
time in exchange for detailed public disclosure of an invention