This is not a substitute for legal advice.  An attorney must be consulted.

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The benefits of patent protection include the right to exclude others, the right to mark products, the right to advertise about patent coverage, and the potential sale or licensing of the patent rights. 

            Exclusive rights.  A patent grants the owner the exclusive right to make, use, sell, offer for sale, or import (any of these acts are referred to as "practicing") the invention in the United States during the term of the patent.  35 U.S.C. § 271.  An "exclusive right" is the right to stop someone else by bringing a lawsuit against them.  A patent does not make it legal for the owner to practice the invention.  If the invention infringes another patent or is otherwise illegal, practicing the invention by the owner may well be unlawful.  The patent merely gives the right to stop others.  To enforce this right, the patent owner may have to sue alleged infringers in federal court.

            Patent marking.  After a U.S. patent application is filed, products described in the application can be marked with "patent pending" or a similar notation.  The "patent pending" marking can provide a significant commercial advantage, because competitors do not know what is covered by patent protection until the patent issues.  After a patent issues, products covered by the patent may be marked with the word "patent" or "pat." together with the number of the patent.  35 U.S.C. §287.  The inclusion of this patent marking on a product informs the public of the patent status of items in commerce.  This marking is also notice to potential infringers that a product is covered by the patent.  If a product is not properly marked,  then patent infringement damages can only be collected for acts occurring after the infringer is placed on actual notice of the infringement.

            Advertising.  A patent owner can advertise that a product is the subject of a pending or issued patent, provided such advertising is truthful.  Advertising about patent protection may generate customer goodwill associated with a more sophisticated unique product.

            Potential sale or licensing.  A patent is a discrete asset which can be valued, used as collateral, licensed or sold.  A patentee can transfer some or all of the rights under the patent.  For instance, patents can be used as collateral or to increase investor confidence to obtain financing for a business.  Sale of a business with significant patent rights is likely to bring about a higher sales price.  Also, patent rights may provide useful leverage to work out cross-licensing agreements with competitors.  Patent rights can also help a business in other ways.  For example, owning patent rights in a product is often important in finding companies to help manufacture and/or market the product on a wider scale than could be accomplished by the patentee alone.