Patent applications are published to provide access and notice to the general public—including competitors and researchers—regarding the pending application and information about the invention described therein. Publishing a patent application provides public disclosure of the described invention. It also provides grounds for potential remedy for any infringing activities that may occur after the patent is published, but before it is issued.

After a patent is granted, the patentee has the exclusive right to make, construct, sell, and use the invention. The patent is also enforceable against others to prevent them from doing the same without licensing or permission from the patentee.

As an alternative to filing a patent application, some inventors may decide to keep their invention a “trade secret.” This means they are trying to protect their invention by keeping it secret, instead of pursuing the legal protection that a patent offers in exchange for public disclosure. The advantage of maintaining an invention as a trade secret is that there is no mandated disclosure or publication of a patent application (and therefore, the invention). On the other hand, trade secrets may not be used to prevent competitors from manufacturing and selling similar or identical products by “reverse engineering” the invention. When deciding how to best protect an invention, it is important to consider various factors, including the nature of the invention, relevant markets, and competitors.