Patenting

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. The action of acquiring the exclusive legal rights to a unique invention, discovery, or design
2. Securing legal protection that grants sole rights to produce or use a novel creation
3. The process by which exclusive ownership is granted over an original device or idea

Etymology: The noun "patent" began as a shortened form of "lettres patentes," the French phrase for an open letter: a document sealed for display rather than folded shut, so that anyone could read the king's grant of an office, privilege or right. The Latin root "patēns" means "open" or "evident," and the Latin verb "pateō" meant "to be open" or "to lie exposed," which is why an invention protected by a patent is one whose details are made public in exchange for the monopoly. From that document, the noun gave rise to the verb "to patent," meaning to secure such a grant for an invention. The "-ing" ending simply turns the verb into a participle or a gerund, so "patenting" names the act of obtaining that protection.

Synonyms: licensing, trademarking, registering, securing, protecting

Antonyms: abandoning, releasing, disclaiming, surrendering, divesting