EasyOpen Inc.gained a patent for an electronic corkscrew.Soon the company made a huge profit on this device.Recently,however,other firms have produced electronic corkscrews.As a result,EasyOpen lost its competitive advantage.Which of the following would most likely be the reason for this development?
A) EasyOpen failed to renew the patent after 10 years.
B) EasyOpen's patent expired after 20 years.
C) EasyOpen failed to copyright the corkscrew.
D) EasyOpen's copyright expired after 30 years.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

IP protection does not last forever, however. Once the protection has expired the invention can be used by others. Patents usually expire 20 years after a patent was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.