The monopoly in a novel invention conveyed to the owner a patent is granted in exchange for inventors publicly disclosing their invention in a patent application, which the government soon publishes for all to see.  [...]

Trademarks are very valuable forms of intellectual property, but they differ significantly from patents and copyrights, which provide legal protections for intellectual creations, namely inventions and works of authorship.  Instead, trademarks are premised on [...]

Many engineers and scientists fail to appreciate when they have conceived of a patentable invention, perhaps presuming that if they came up with the idea, someone else must have done so already.  Many believe [...]