Patent Application The legal steps to getting a patent A patent is a grant of a property right which permits an inventor to exclude others from making, using, or selling the invention disclosed and claimed in the patent. United States patents are granted by a special branch of the federal government called the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). There are three different types of patents that are available under U.S. law: 1. a utility patent on the functional or structural aspects of an apparatus, composition of matter, method or process; 2. a design patent on the ornamental design of useful objects; and 3. a plant patent on a new variety of living plant. Each type of patent confers the right to exclude others from infringing the invention, industrial design, or plant variety. Patents do not protect ideas, but rather structures and methods that apply technological concepts. In return for getting a patent and receiving the right to exclude others, the inventor must relinquish the secrecy of the invention and fully disclose the best mode of making and using the invention to the public.