How a US patent protects you, and does your product qualify for a US patent?

Patents can be invaluable to inventors not only as a way to protect their inventions but also as a commodity (i.e. property) to be bought, sold and licensed. As the global market place continues to shrink, and information becomes increasingly easier to acquire, inventors will find it more and more important to protect their intellectual property. Because of the unique rules that govern patents, however, it is important that inventors have at least a basic understanding of how patents are obtained, how the filing of a patent application can be barred by waiting too long, and of course, whether their invention may be patentable.