Patents protect knowledge. Similar to the protection of property in movable property and real estate, there are legal regulations on the protection of intellectual property. However, while authors or composers already enjoy copyright protection through the design of their ideas, technical property rights, such as patents, must first be documented by the state. A patent is granted.
Patents are assets
An inventor should always seek a patent application before presenting his development to companies that he believes his idea could help you with. On the other hand, he could run the risk that the legal system would leave him defenseless and that another of his ideas and suggestions would be seized and exploited without his consent. However, a granted patent is a real asset, comparable to the right to use a property exclusively as explained on https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/InventHelp-Reviews-E152162.htm.
The patent application
For example, the US Patent and Trademark Office is responsible for granting a US patent. There, a new technical invention is tested first: is it really new or can you find the idea anywhere in the world in already published knowledge? Are they suitable for commercial use? Is the idea based on an inventive step or are only natural laws or logical contexts described? Is there a significant difference compared to the current state of the art or is it only an update that is obvious to a person skilled in the art?
If these facts are present, the inventor or the applicant is granted a right of exclusion, as the granted patent gives the holder the right to prevent anyone else from using the patented idea as you can read from https://blogs.cornell.edu/react/inventhelp-taking-inventions-from-paper-to-the-global-marketplace-hinges-on-usp/.
Patent rights
The patent ensures its owner a strong position in the market. He alone can decide whether he wants to use his invention himself, let others use it (licensing) or keep the idea unused.
He can deny anyone else, and in particular his competitors, the construction, sale and / or use of an asset built according to his patented invention. This also applies to processes that have been protected by patents.
A patent usually has a maximum term of 20 years. The patent proprietor can take legal action against patent infringements by filing a criminal injunction or at the civil court with an injunction and damages claim.