What does "patent law" govern?

Patent law governs the rights of inventors to their inventions for a set period, typically 20 years from the filing date of the patent application. This area of law is designed to provide inventors with exclusive rights to their creations, encouraging innovation by allowing them to benefit commercially from their inventions without competition for a designated timeframe. The principle is that by granting these exclusive rights, inventors are incentivized to invest time and resources into developing new technologies and products, which ultimately benefits society as a whole through advances in various industries.

The other options relate to different areas of law and do not directly address the core purpose of patent law. While regulations regarding corporate branding concern trademarks and their protection, employee rights and inventions fall under labor law and employment contracts, and the approval process for new products connects more directly to regulatory compliance and safety standards rather than intellectual property protections granted through patents. Thus, the correct answer reflects the specific focus and implications of patent law on inventors' rights.