Patent
A patent is an intellectual property right granted by the Government of the United States of America to an inventor “to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention throughout the United States or importing the invention into the United States” for a limited time in exchange for public disclosure of the invention when the patent is granted.
Trademark
In the U.S., patents and trademarks are issued by the USPTO. U.S. patents are effective only within the U.S, U.S. territories, and U.S. possessions. Each country has its own granting institution. At the international level, the licensing process is facilitated by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a specialized agency of the United Nations.
