patente

An exclusive right granted on an invention. That is, a patent is an exclusive right that is granted on a product or a process that, generally, offers a new way of doing something or a new technical solution to a problem.

A patent must meet a series of requirements required by law (novelty, inventive step, industrial application, sufficiency in the description). The patent is configured as a right of the owner to exclude third parties from the exploitation of the invention in the country in which the patent has been granted.

Patent protection is granted for a limited period, which is usually 20 years from the filing date of the application. When the patent expires, the protection conferred ends and the invention passes into the public domain; in other words, the invention can be exploited commercially without infringing the patent.