A patent is an intellectual property right given to a creator for his invention and also for the process applied for creating that product or invention. It promotes novel ideas and inventions and is therefore considered very important in the commercial world.

When a person puts in his time and energy and invents a commercially viable invention, he would not normally want others to take benefit of it. However, it is not simple to watch over each and every violation of your right over your creation as you might be required to discuss it in public for marketing purposes. It is in such instances that patent laws come to your help.

Patent laws allow the inventor to make exclusive use of the invention or the underlying process for a stipulated period and then permit the product or process to pass into the pubic domain where it can be used by anyone for any purpose. This enables the inventor to reap benefits of his efforts while he is under the protection of law and allows him to initiate legal action against any individual who is found to be violating his patent.

Another aspect that adds to the significance of patents is that they aid the inventor license out his invention for a good return, as most licensees are interested in exclusive rights over a product. However, the complex procedures and large costs involved in patenting make it undesirable for products with low commercial viability as well as for those which are to be marketed for a very limited time span.

The real importance of patents lies in cases where the inventor has invested a substantial amount of effort and ingenuity to create a marketable product, particularly when mass production of that product is possible. If such efforts were not safeguarded through a legal framework, there would be no way to reward people who can think differently and come up with innovative ideas.