Complete 8 pages APA formatted article: Patent Law. Patents are available for most industrially applicable processes and devices. They may cover: Mechanical devices, such as a mousetrap. It also covers methods for doing things, such as the method used for dyeing or bleaching fabrics. It also include chemical compounds, like for example, a new drug and mixtures of compounds, like that of an improved hand cream. Patents can also cover such diverse matters like vaccines for whooping cough, wire-strippers, and chemical processes (Coyle, 2008). The commercial benefit of a granted patent is that it gives the owner the right to prevent others from exploiting, without his consent, the invention for which a patent has been granted (What is n.d.). A granted patent is a property right which can be bought, sold, licensed to others or used as security. The owner of a granted patent might use it to protect a product or service, which he sells. Alternatively, or as well, he may grant a license to one or more parties, usually in exchange for royalties (Ibid). Patents in the UK, as elsewhere in the European Economic Area (EEA), have the duration of 20 years from their filing date, subject to payment of renewal fees and not being invalidated. As mentioned above, the duration for the protection of patents in the UK is 20 years and also renewable every 5 years. After this period of 20 year other people are free to produce or copy the invention. The reason why the term is set to 20 years is because the creator should have enough time to reap the rewards of creating his invention, his intellectual property.