A patent is an intellectual property right which serves the protection of technical inventions. It provides the patent holder with the right to prohibit the use of the invention by others. The maximum term of a patent is 20 years.According to the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property technical inventions include products (e.g. heatable ski boots or chemical compounds such as aspirin) and processes (e.g. processes for freeze-drying coffee). Such inventions are patentable provided that they are new, non-obvious to a person skilled in the art and susceptible of industrial application.
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