150 Types of Unusual Investments – The List

94. Patents – patents are valuable in that the holder of the patent has the legal right to make and sell an invention without competition for a limited period of time.

Many people apply for patents without any real plan to actually make the invention.  Instead they would prefer to license or sell the patent to another person or company.

An investor that sees the potential in a patent can buy that patent then turn it into an actual product to sell.

The USPTO is responsible for issuing patents.