Yes, patent is always granted by relevant authority in pertinent state in which you seek patent protection for your invention. The patent protection of your invention does not automaticaly arises once you create your invention like it is in copyright protection system.

As the territorial principle applies here, the protection is only granted within the country in which you have registered your patent. Exception from this are for instance the regional patent systems where your patent registration is valid throughout the territory of all member states of that regional union. And yes, that suddenly means you are not protected by your U.S. patent in the UK.

Novelty, inventive step and it must be capable of industrial/business usage. Many countries have also exclusions from subject of patentability, meaning that certain things can not be patented such as mathematical methords, plant or animal varieties, methods of medical treatment etc. And the last requirement – inventions must be published in a patent application in a way which sufficiently enables replication of invention by a person with an ordinary level of expertise in the relevant technical area.

Patent system exists on international, regional and national levels. On international level there is The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) through which you can seek patent protection in multiple countries at once.

On the regional level there is The European Patent Convention system administered by The European Patent Office (EPO), Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO), African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) and couple of others. These allow you to register your patent in certain region and that can save you a lot of money and time in the process.

If you are willing to protect your invention on the national level, most countries of the world have established national patent systems which are mainly administered by the national industrial property offices.

Once your patent is registered you have exclusive right to authorize everyone else for its usage, selling, distribution and a few other related rights.

The patent protection mostly lasts for 20 years from the date on which your patent application was filed. This may wary from country to country, but most countries of the world use this 20 year protection period.

There are various ways of monetizing your patent. Two main options are that you either use your invention to get competitive edge in your market area and second is that you sell your invention to someone who can use it as his competitive edge. Another very popular option is to licence your invention to someone else and gain passive income regularly.

Yes, you can. Procedure of obtaining design patent (industrial design) is in most countries much easier and cheaper than obtaining technical invention design.

You can contact us for more information about industrial design registration or consult our design protection website.