Letters patent (Latin: litterae patentes) (always in the plural) are a type of legal

instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president, or

other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a
person or corporation. Letters patent can be used for the creation of corporations or
government offices, or for granting city status or a coat of arms. Letters patent are issued
for the appointment of representatives of the Crown, such as governors and governors-
general of Commonwealth realms, as well as appointing a Royal Commission. In the
United Kingdom they are also issued for the creation of peers of the realm.

A particular form of letters patent has evolved into the modern intellectual
property patent (referred to as a utility patent or design patent in United States patent
law) granting exclusive rights in an invention (or a design in the case of a design patent).
In this case it is essential that the written grant should be in the form of a public
document so other inventors can consult it both to avoid infringement and understand
how to put it into practical use. In the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire, and Austria-
Hungary, imperial patent was also the highest form of generally binding legal regulations,
e.g. Patent of Toleration, Serfdom Patent etc.