Legal Definitions - patent-owner

Definition: A patent-owner is someone who either has been granted a patent or has succeeded in title to a patent. They are also known as a patentee.

For example, if John invents a new type of phone and applies for a patent, he becomes the patentee or patent-owner once the patent is granted. If John sells his patent to a company, the company becomes the new patent-owner.

This means that the patent-owner has the exclusive right to make, use, and sell the invention for a certain period of time, usually 20 years from the date of filing the patent application. This gives the patent-owner the ability to control who can use their invention and how it is used, which can be very valuable.