The creation of a new product or service requires a lot of thinking. The process of designing new things goes through a lot of steps. For every area of consumer and business service, there is a program or software that is used to build new things. For architecture, we have AUTOCAD. For music, we have mixing programs, and so it goes on for every area of consumerism. This includes the process of design and invention of the product.
Then we have the process of manufacturing. Nowadays, we have 3d printers that can print pretty much everything from scratch, as long as it is coded properly. There are also assembly lines, where special machinery and computers receive the instructions from engineers and then execute those commands.
The process of using a product goes through various phases. It first needs to be assured that it follows all current laws and any special requirements that pertain to the industry that the product or service is being launched. For example, if it is a new food, it needs to be approved by the FDA and it needs to be tested that it does not have any harm. The proprieties of the product and service are laid upon launching to the public. The issuer of the product or service needs to not make false claims and need not hide any details from the consumers.
The last part of the process is patenting. So when a product is launched to the public, it can easily be replicated. To protect the issuing company, there are patents. A patent is intellectual property, that is illegal to steal and replicate without the permission of the issuer. Manufacturers can file for 4 types of patents; utility patents, design patents, plant patents, and software ones.
Utility patents assure discoveries such as machines, new manufacturing processes, new formulas. This includes, for example, new drugs, vaccines, new designs of existing products, etc.
Design patents assure the outside design of a particular product. For example, the Tesa Cybertrack has a particular shape that cannot be replicated by its competitors.
Plant patents protect the new breeds of plants that are created by people. The process of breeding a new plant would qualify for this patent.
Software patents forbid the copying of software. There is only one Apple phone. There is only one entity that holds the right to manufacture Microsoft computers.
All the above factors are together when designing and creating a new product or a new service. Patents are filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).