A Patent is a legal authorisation or license which grants exclusive rights to make, use, or sell an invention over a certain period. The Patent grants the sole rights to manufacture or market certain products or inventions and, as a result, entitles the holder to the economic benefits associated with the license. A Design Patent, one of the three categories of patents, grants exclusive rights over any new or original design that can be affixed to a manufactured item or model. To estimate the fair market value of a patent, Business Valuators apply techniques under the income, market and asset methods, a situation made possible by the fact that a management contract can be recognised (and separated) and the associated economic benefits reliably measured.