The patentee has the statutory time limit right to exclude others from implementing, using or selling the invention. Assuming that all necessary maintenance fees have been paid, legal rights are usually 20 years from the date of patent grant to the date of application. In most jurisdictions, patents are regarded as private property rights, and patent owners can enforce them through the courts. Similar to real estate or land, the owner is given the right to prevent others from using the land, and the patent right also gives the owner the right to prevent others from using the claimed invention.
Like other property rights, patent rights can also be licensed or sold.