Most laws dealing with the protection of inventions do not actually define the
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notion of an invention. A number of countries, however, define inventions as new
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solutions to all technical problems. The problem may be old or new, but the solution, in order to merit the name of invention, must be a new one. Merely
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discovering something that already exists in nature, such as a previously unknown
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plant variety, is not an invention. Human intervention must be added up. So the
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process for extraction of a new substance from a plant may be called an invention.
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An invention is not necessarily in a complex item. The safety pin was an invention which solved an existing "technical" problem. New solutions are, in essence, ideas,
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and are protected as such thing. Thus protection of inventions under patent law
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does not require that the invention might be represented in a physical embodiment. Pa tents, also referred to as patents for invention, are the most widespread means of
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protecting the rights of inventors. Simply put, a patent is the right that granted to an inventor by a State, or by a regional office acting for several States, which allows the inventor to exclude anyone else from commercially exploiting his invention for a
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limited period time, generally 20 years. By granting an exclusive right, patents provide incentives to individuals, offering them recognition for their creativity and
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material reward for their marketable inventions. These incentives encourage innovation, which in turn contributes to the continuing enhancement of the quality of
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human life. In return for the exclusive right, the inventor must not adequately disclose the patented invention to the public, so that others can gain the new knowledge and can further develop the technology.