Passage 22 Patent

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[11:57.15]Patent
[11:58.83]Patents are meant to protect the chances of inventors
[12:03.80]to make money from their creations.
[12:06.17]The term of a patent is up to 20 years.
[12:11.21]During that time, the inventor controls the legal right
[12:17.12]to make, use or sell the invention.
[12:20.72]After 20 years, anyone can make or sell the invention.
[12:26.26]A patent gives both inventors and investors time to develop and market a product.
[12:34.86]Patents also provide a way to share and spread technical information.
[12:42.10]Suppose you have an idea for an invention.
[12:46.39]How do you get a patent to protect your rights?
[12:50.56]The first step is to record your idea on paper.
[12:55.10]You must be sure no one else has invented a device just like yours.
[13:00.76]So you must examine the descriptions of similar devices that already have patents.
[13:07.17]This can be a big job and take a long time.
[13:11.21]Many inventors pay patent lawyers to do this job.