A government authority or license conferring a right or title for a set period, especially the sole right to exclude others from making, using or selling an invention.

• A. Patents
• B. EPA
• C. FDA
• D. Risk

Answer: (A)

A patent is a government-granted exclusive right that allows the holder to prevent others from making, using, selling, or importing the patented invention for a limited time. This protection comes from a patent office after examining the invention, and the term is typically about 20 years from filing in many jurisdictions. The crucial point is the exclusive right to exclude others, which enables the inventor to control how the invention is used and to license or commercialize it. Regulatory agencies like the EPA or FDA are authorities that regulate products and processes, not rights granted to inventors, and “risk” isn’t a license or title. So the best answer is patents.