Letters Patent

"Experts" said time travel was impossible, but now, using a combination of quantum physics, PVC pipe, and paper clips, we’re pretty sure we’ve created something that can transport people to the future and back. But we don’t want anyone else using our invention for their own gains, which is why we’ve applied for a patent. If our patent is approved by the government, we’ll be granted what’s known as a “letters patent”: exclusive rights to our own invention for a period of time (usually about 20 years) that are open and accessible to the patent-interested public.

We should point out that the term “letters patent” is used more in the UK than it is in the United States. On this side of the pond, we usually call them design patents or utility patents, but the gist is the same: we invented or designed something cool and new, and now we have exclusive rights to do with it what we will.