patents
n. countablen. official documents that give an inventor the legal right to be the only person to make or sell a new invention for a certain number of years. They stop other people from copying your ideas without permission.
n. legal documents granted by a government authority, conferring the exclusive right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a set period. Often used in the plural to refer to a company's collection of intellectual property rights.
The company holds several patents for its new smartphone technology.
After years of research, the pharmaceutical firm filed for patents to protect its new formula from competitors.
The aggressive acquisition of patents in the tech industry often serves as a defensive strategy to prevent litigation rather than a genuine attempt to bring new products to market.
Commonly used with verbs like 'file for', 'grant', 'infringe', or 'hold'.