A firm may have obtained its monopoly position through the acquisition of a patent of copyright. A patent is granted to an inventor to allow him to allow him the exclusive right to produce the good or use the production process that is patented. In the latter, potential firms cannot enter the market as they do not have access to the technology. The aim of awarding patents is to promote research and development. A copyright, which is similar to a patent, is granted on plays, textbooks,novels,songs, computers software, and the like. Patents and copyrights are known as intellectual properties.