Generally

• A patent is a legal document issued by a U.S. government office called the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). The PTO has authority to grant design, utility, and plant patents.
  
  

Time Frame

• Design patents last for 20 years, while utility and plant patents last for 14 years.
  
  

Significance

• When the PTO issues a patent, the patent holder then has the exclusive right to produce, use and sell the patented product. This means the government protects you from any sort of competition, at least as long as the patent remains in effect.
  
  

Types

• The most common type of patent is a utility patent, also sometimes called a mechanical patent. A utility patent is an idea that improves the functionality of a process or product. A design patent, on the other hand, is for ideas that improve the look of an item, but not the way the item is used. Plant patents are the most rare.
  
  

Geography

• A patent protects the production, use and sale of a product within the boundaries of the United States. This means somebody else can't steal your design, produce the item in a foreign country, then sell it in the United States.