A patent is known as a set of exclusive rights granted by the government to an inventor or someone designated by the inventor. These rights are for a limited period. Patents last for 20 years and are a way of protecting inventions and designs for inventions. Two kinds of patents exist and they are design and utility. An example of a utility would be a patent for a desktop computer. An example of a design would be a patent for a certain style or type of desktop computer. A design is patent is an alteration to an existing application that already has a patent. These patents are monitored and protected by the United States Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office. A patent grants the owner the right to prevent others from doing the following things for the term of the patent: making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing the invention.