patent

1. (law)Examples: "[…] Squib proved clearly by his patent that the house and office did now belong to him."; "Philip of Spain had offered a reward of 25,000 crowns, a patent of nobility, and immunity for all past crimes, to the assassinator of the Prince of Orange."countableuncountable

2. (law)countablespecificallyuncountable

3. (law)Examples: "The patent situation, too, played a part in this, as often a firm sought to produce something which would achieve a given result, and yet not infringe a patent held by another; or a railway engineer would think of a device of his own that would free him of obligation to some manufacturer."; "The solitary, lumbering trolls of Scandinavian mythology would sometimes be turned to stone by exposure to sunlight. Barack Obama is hoping that several measures announced on June 4th will have a similarly paralysing effect on their modern incarnation, the patent troll."countablespecificallyuncountable

4. (law)UScountablehistoricaluncountable

5. (by extension) A product in respect of which a patent (sense 1.2.2) has been obtained.broadlycountableuncountable

6. (uncountable) Ellipsis of patent leather (“a varnished, high-gloss leather typically used for accessories and shoes”).abbreviationalt-ofellipsisuncountable