Patents are bilateral agreements between the government and an individual to whom the government grants the exclusive right to produce an invention within a period of time while preventing others from claiming or selling the same idea. There are three types:
--a utility (a physical device) --a design (such as a blueprint) --a plant (e.g., a hybrid seed)
Beginning this September, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has been revising some of its rules in an effort to simplify the process of getting a patent. Its aims were to reduce the time needed to apply by cutting unnecessary paperwork; to...