9781422273128

Learn more about Marie Brown, the inventor of the first home security system

can always be added to or improved. Without the internal combustion engine, for example, the school bus would never have been developed. Even very old inventions like the wheel continue to be improved; today, scientists are still looking for ways to make better tires. New inventions are always being created— inventors will never be out of a job! Not all inventors are scientists. Some are simply good at solving problems and coming up with new ideas. However, many do have scientific backgrounds. WHAT IS A PATENT? A patent is a property right for an invention that is granted by a government to the inventor. A United States patent gives inventors the right “to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling their invention throughout the United States or importing their invention into the United States” for a limited period of time. The patent makes sure that no one else can claim credit for an invention besides the inventor—and that no one else can sell it either.

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