A patent is an intellectual property right that grants the owner the right to exclude others from making, using, importing, offering for sale, or selling the patented invention in the United States for a limited period of years. A patent does not grant the owner the right to make, use, import, offer for sale, or sell the patented invention.

When should you seek patent protection? When you have an idea? A prototype? A product? It is often a misconception that you need a prototype or product to seek patent protection. While you cannot obtain patent protection for a mere idea, you can, in fact, file a patent application with an idea (and no prototype or product), so long as the idea is sufficiently concrete.

There is value to having a product that looks different from anything else on the market. People often want things simply because they look cool or are unique. And wouldn’t it be cool if you could be the exclusive producer of that unique, cool-looking product? With the right protection, you can. There are several ways to protect a design, including design patents and trade dress.