protected by a patent; patented: a patent cooling device.
pertaining to, concerned with, or dealing with patents, especially on inventions: a patent attorney; patent law.
conferred by a patent, as a right or privilege.
holding a patent, as a person.
readily open to notice or observation; evident; obvious: a patent breach of good manners.
made of patent leather: patent shoes.
lying open; not enclosed or shut in: a patent field.
Chiefly Botany. expanded or spreading.
open, as a doorway or a passage.
Phonetics. open, in various degrees, to the passage of the breath stream.
verb (used with object)
to take out a patent on; obtain the exclusive rights to (an invention, process, etc.) by a patent.
to originate and establish as one's own.
Metallurgy. to heat and quench (wire) so as to prepare for cold-drawing.
to grant (public land) by a patent.
Origin of patent
First recorded in 1250–1300; (adjective) Middle English, from Latin patent- (stem of patēns ) “open,” present participle of patēre “to stand open, lie open”; (noun) Middle English, short for letters patent, translation of Medieval Latin litterae patentēs “open letters”
non·pat·ent·a·bil·i·ty,nounnon·pat·ent·a·ble,adjectivenon·pat·ent·ed,adjectivenon·pat·ent·ly,adverbpre·pat·ent,noun,verb (used with object)un·pat·ent,adjectiveun·pat·ent·a·bil·i·ty,nounun·pat·ent·a·ble,adjectiveun·pat·ent·ed,adjective
The patent does not guarantee that Cansino’s vaccine will ultimately prove successful.
China just issued its first COVID vaccine patent. What it means for the vaccine race|Grady McGregor|August 18, 2020|Fortune
The patent application reflects a high level of technical sophistication.
The U.S. Postal Service is seeking a patent for voting by phone|Jeff|August 17, 2020|Fortune
Having received a patent on the technology in 1986, Hull founded 3D Systems to commercialize his discoveries.
Pioneers in Printing|The Daily Beast|October 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Language from the patent mandates that the technology be used with “hearing device, headphones, ear buds, or headsets.”
Apple Wants to Make Your Head Into an App|Abby Haglage|February 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The day ends in Iowa, of all places, with a one-sentence entry: “Christian K. Nelson took out a patent on the Eskimo Pie.”
Best Year Ever: How 1922 Birthed Modernism|Mark Braude|September 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Despite its patent fallacy, the impact of the “Christian Nation” revisionist history on American attitudes is substantial.
We’re Not a Christian Nation|Fred Rich|July 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Other companies (or patent trolls) might not be so benevolent.
The Supremes Get It Right, Naturally.|Sam Kean|June 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
She was no longer a duchess by patent; she was a queen by right of inheritance; she was now to be a power among the great.
The Puppet Crown|Harold MacGrath
A patentee who assigns his patent cannot, when sued for infringement, contest the validity thereof.
Practical Pointers for Patentees|Franklin Cresee
Miss Corelli knows these things, of course, for they are patent to the world; but she allows zeal to run away with judgment.
My Contemporaries In Fiction|David Christie Murray
The complete method (of which the multiple line of approach is the expression) is the antithesis of the special or patent method.
The Principles of Language-Study|Harold E. Palmer
What variations may be claimed or covered by the patent consistently with unity of design.
Scientific American, Vol.22, No. 1, January 1, 1870|Various
British Dictionary definitions for patent
patent
/ (ˈpætənt, ˈpeɪtənt) /
noun
a government grant to an inventor assuring him the sole right to make, use, and sell his invention for a limited period
a document conveying such a grant
an invention, privilege, etc, protected by a patent
an official document granting a right
any right granted by such a document
(in the US)
a grant by the government of title to public lands
the instrument by which such title is granted
the land so granted
a sign that one possesses a certain quality
adjective
open or available for inspection (esp in the phrases letters patent, patent writ)
(ˈpeɪtənt) obvioustheir scorn was patent to everyone
concerning protection, appointment, etc, of or by a patent or patents
proprietary
(esp of a bodily passage or duct) being open or unobstructed
biologyspreading out widelypatent branches
(of plate glass) ground and polished on both sides
verb(tr)
to obtain a patent for
(in the US) to grant (public land or mineral rights) by a patent
metallurgyto heat (a metal) above a transformation temperature and cool it at a rate that allows cold working
Derived forms of patent
patentable, adjectivepatentability, noun
Word Origin for patent
C14: via Old French from Latin patēre to lie open; n use, short for letters patent, from Medieval Latin litterae patentes letters lying open (to public inspection)
usage for patent
The pronunciation (ˈpætənt) is heard in letters patent and Patent Office and is the usual US pronunciation for all senses. In Britain (ˈpætənt) is sometimes heard for senses 1, 2 and 3, but (ˈpeɪtənt) is commoner and is regularly used in collocations like patent leather
A grant made by a government that confers upon the creator of an invention the sole right to make, use, and sell that invention for a set period of time.
An invention protected by such a grant.
adj.
Of, relating to, or being a nonprescription drug or other medical preparation that is often protected by a trademark.
Not blocked; open.
Spreading open; expanded.
v.
To obtain a patent on or for something, such as an invention.
To invent, originate, or be the proprietor of an idea.