and Inventors the Exclusive Right to their Writings and Discoveries.” Congress used this power to create the

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, as well as the U.S. Copyright Office. A patent gives the inventor the exclusive

legal right to make, use, or sell the invention for a limited time. In the United States, exclusive patent rights last

for 20 years. The idea is to provide limited monopoly power so that innovative firms can recoup their

investment in R&D, but then to allow other firms to produce the product more cheaply once the patent expires.

A trademark is an identifying symbol or name for a particular good, like Chiquita bananas, Chevrolet cars, or

the Nike “swoosh” that appears on shoes and athletic gear. Between 2003 and 2019, roughly 6.8 million

trademarks were registered with the U.S. government. A firm can renew a trademark repeatedly, as long as it

remains in active use.
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