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35 U.S.C. § 154: Patent term and the right to exclude
35 U.S.C. 154 grants the right to exclude and sets the 20-year patent term.
Citation: 35 U.S.C. § 154
Type: Statute
Jurisdiction: Federal
Issuing body: U.S. Congress
Status: In force
A patent gives its owner the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling, or importing the invention in the United States under subsection (a)(1). Utility patents generally end 20 years after the earliest nonprovisional application was filed under subsection (a)(2), and the term can be extended to make up for Patent Office delay under subsection (b). A provisional application does not start the 20-year clock.
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