patent
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pat·ent (pat′'nt; for adj. 2-4 & 8 pāt′'nt, pat′-; Brit usually pāt′'nt)
adjective
- open to examination by the public: said of a document granting some right or rights, as to land, a franchise, an office, or, now esp., an invention letters patent
- granted or appointed by letters patent
- open to all; generally accessible or available
- obvious; plain; evident a patent lie
- open or unobstructed
- protected by a patent; patented
- of or having to do with patents or the granting of patents patent law
- produced or sold as a proprietary product
- new, unusual, individual, etc. also patented
- Bot., Zool. spreading out or open; patulous
Etymology: ME < MFr & L: MFr patent < L patens, prp. of patere, to be open: see patella
noun
- an official document open to public examination and granting a certain right or privilege; letters patent; esp., a document granting the exclusive right to produce, sell, or get profit from an invention, process, etc. for a specific number of years
- the right so granted
- the thing protected by such a right; patented article or process
- public land, or title to such land, granted to a person by letters patent
- any exclusive right, title, or license
transitive verb
- to grant a patent to or for
- to secure exclusive right to produce, use, and sell (an invention or process) by a patent; get a patent for
Related Forms:
- patentable pat′·ent·able (pat′'nt ə bəl) adjective
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Alternate definitions:
patent
modif.
patent
n.
patent
v.
Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Converse of object
- infringe: The MorphoSys action asked the court to revoke CAT's Griffiths patent and/or declare that MorphoSys does not infringe the patent.
Adjective modifier
- granted: Granted patents relating to the target antigen are available for licensing.
Modifies a noun
- infringement: Google the world's most infamous internet search engine is being sued for patent infringement.
Noun used with modifier
- software: Many of the software patents granted in the US are simply existing ideas with " over the Internet " added to them.
Preposition: for
- invention: Although he held patents for many inventions, he never applied for patents for either design in this category.
The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.
The patent systemadded the fuel of interest to the fire of genius.
Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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MLA Style
"patent." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009
- Your Dictionary. 3 July 2009
- <www.yourdictionary.com/patent>
APA Style
patent. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary
- Retrieved July 3rd, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/patent
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