A patent granted by the United States government is an exclusionary protection that prevents those except for an original inventor from making, selling, using or importing from another nation the invention produced by the original creator. Patents are always a wise move for inventors to ensure sole rights of an invention or design of an invention, while also establishing a guarantee of compensation for inventions. Even if a patent has yet to be officially granted by the United State Patent and Trademark Organization (USPTO), it is still a good idea to describe an invention as patent pending while the patent application is being processed. Once officially granted a patent, inventions are protected for 20 years from the originally date of filing with the USPTO.