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Patent is essentially a legal acknowledgement of an invention by the state that protects the rights of the creator in his invention and deters others from illegally using the patented product or its manufacturing method for a certain period. It permits the inventor to take any infringer to court for violating his exclusive rights over the usage of the product as acknowledged by the government.

Patents can be categorized under three main groups. These are utility patents, design patents, and plant patents.

A design patent safeguards the way the product looks and is designed. Hence, it protects the shape, configuration and even adornments of the product. Design patents are quite useful for businesses that work upon current products and develop fresh looking variants that have a commercial worth of their own in the global market.

The second kind of patent is a utility patent which protects a new and utilitarian product, composition or innovation of an existing product. It essentially protects the way a product is or the manner in which it works. This is the most commonly applied for patent and it can be obtained along with a design patent.

The third major kind of patent relates to the protection given for invention of an asexually produced distinct variety of a plant that is new and unknown in the field. It protects an invention from infringement by way of production or marketing of a part of the plant or the entire plant.

However, besides these categories there is another category of patents, known as provisional patents that are issued for a provisional period, if the inventor has a time constraint or resource crunch to file a proper patent application. In these cases, you are permitted to file a more detailed patent application at a later date, though it does not let you to make radical changes from your claim in the provisional patent. This kind of patent is usually sought when you are getting close to the end of development of the product.

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