Patent - Definition

adj 1: (of a bodily tube or passageway) open; affording free
passage; "patent ductus arteriosus"
2: clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment; "the
effects of the drought are apparent to anyone who sees the
parched fields"; "evident hostility"; "manifest disapproval";
"patent advantages"; "made his meaning plain"; "it is plain
that he is no reactionary"; "in plain view" [syn: apparent,
evident, manifest, patent, plain, unmistakable]
n 1: a document granting an inventor sole rights to an invention
[syn: patent, patent of invention]
2: an official document granting a right or privilege [syn:
patent, letters patent]
v 1: obtain a patent for; "Should I patent this invention?"
2: grant rights to; grant a patent for
3: make open to sight or notice; "His behavior has patented an
embarrassing fact about him"