To patent an invention with the USPTO, it gives the bearer of the patent the right to use the product they have been issued a patent for. This not only protects the bearer from any other company in America from using it, but also any company from importing a similar product that is made overseas.

There are three basic types of patents that are intended to cover the main three categories of inventions that are covered by patents in America. There is the Utility Patent. This is the type that most people think of when thinking of some thing receiving a patent. It covers a machine, process, article of manufacturing, or an improvement to an existing process or machine.

Another type of patent is the Design Patent. It is to cover any new, original, or ornamental design to be a part of manufacturing of an item. This can refer to the shape, appearance, or configuration of the article. The main difference between a utility patent and a design patent is that the utility patent covers a product that is used or does work while the design is solely its appearance.

The last is a plant patent. These are not issued to any that Mother Nature invented herself, but new and unique species of plants that are created in a laboratory by scientists. Tuber propagated and plants found in uncultivated states are not eligible for a patent. It must be truly unique and unusual in its origin. Bacteria are not considered a plant but fungus and algaes are and can receive protection from the patent office.

When you patent an invention, you will receive protection from others using whatever you have patented. This is a legal stance that will hold up in court.