According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, a patent is "a property right granted by the government of the United States of America to an inventor "to prohibit others to make, use, offer for sale, or sell the invention anywhere in the United States or import the invention into the United States" for a limited time in exchange for public disclosure of the invention when the patent is granted” (USPTO, paragraph 2). There are three types of patents:1. Utility patent – ​​refers to technical solutions that have industrial applications. For example, a new paint formula. The utility patent protects the functional characteristics of the device.2. Design Patent – ​​protects the appearance of the device.3. Plant patent – ​​can be granted to people who have invented, discovered or asexually reproduced a new plant variety. A cyberpatent or Internet patent is a type of utility patent; it can be granted for an invention combining software and business methods for Internet applications. The Internet patent has the same scope of patent protection as any other type of patent (excluding others from making, using, offering for sale or selling the invention). The owner of an Internet patent or cyber patent would also be entitled to the same rights as owners of any other type of patent. This type of patent must meet the same patentability requirements as any other method or process. According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, obviousness occurs when "the differences between the claimed invention and the state of the art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the date of effective filing of the claimed invention for a person having ordinary skill in the field to which the claimed invention refers to the ......references paper (BPAI). The Board's decisions may also be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. “Applicants can then appeal the Federal Circuit's decision to the United States Supreme Court, but the United States Supreme Court rarely grants review. In most cases, the Federal Circuit has the final say in approving or denying a patent application” (Craig, 2013, pp. 59-60). Works cited1. The United States Patent and Trademark Office. (nd). Patents. Accessed May 2, 2014, from http://www.uspto.gov/inventors/patents.jsp#heading-1 2. United States Patent and Trademark Office. (nd). Examination guidelines for determining obviousness under 35 USC 103 [R-11.2013]. Accessed May 3, 2014, from http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s2141.html 3. Graig, B. (2013). Cyberlaw: the law of the Internet and information technologies. Boston, Massachusetts. Pearson.