A patent is a government grant to an inventor of the right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention, usually for a limited period. Patents are granted for new and useful machines, manufactured products, and industrial processes and for significant improvements of existing ones. Examples of patents include CRISPR, a gene editing tool, developed at the University of California, Berkeley, and graphene, an incredibly strong, lightweight and heat resistant material made from a single layer of carbon molecules developed at the University of Manchester.