Patents grant an inventor the right to exclude others from producing or using the inventor's discovery or invention for a limited period of time. U.S. patent laws were enacted by Congress under its Constitutional grant of authority to protect thediscoveries of inventors. The main body of law concerning patents is found in Title 35 of the United States Code. In order to be patented an invention must be novel, useful, and not of an obvious nature. Such "utility" patents are issued for four general types of inventions/discoveries: machines, human made products, compositions of matter, and processing methods. Changing technology has led to an ever expanding understanding of what constitutes a human made product. Specific additions to the Patent Act provide, in addition, for design and plant patents.

Prior to a recent amendment prompted by the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) accompanying the Uruguay Round GATT, patents were normally issued for a non-renewable period of seventeen years, measured from the date of issuance. See [[USC:35:154|§ 154 of Title 35.] Under the amended provision (which took effect June 8, 1995) the term will be twenty years measured from the date of application.

Patent infringement cases arise under Federal patent law over which the Federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. See [[USC:28:1338|§ 1338(a) of Title 28] of The United States Code.

The Federal agency charged with administering patent laws is the Patent and Trademark Office. Its regulations, pertaining to Patents, are found in Parts 2 - 6 of Title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Each patent application for an alleged new invention is reviewed by a examiner to determine if it is entitled to a patent. While historically a model was required as part of a patent application, in most cases today, only a detailed specificationis necessary.

If an application is rejected, the decision may be appealed to the Patents Office's Board of Appeals, with further or alternative review available from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, or in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.