patent application

A patent application is a request pending at a patent office for the grant of a patent for the invention described and claimed by that application. An application consists of a description of the invention (the patent specification), together with official forms and correspondence relating to the application. The term patent application is also used to refer to the process of applying for a patent, or to the patent specification itself.
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Noun
1. an application for sole rights to an invention
(hypernym) application

-- see application (patent)  -- see How to Get a Patent for guides for each type of patent application

Context: Patent 

A patent application is a document submitted by an inventor requesting to be issued a patent for an invention described in the specification which accompanies the application.