A patent is a license issued by the government to an individual or business that gives exclusivity to them to produce a product without allowing a reproduction by a competitor to legally enter the market.
Patents are given to inventors who create a product that was not previously in commercial use and that does not already have a patent on it.
When an inventor creates a product that was never patented before, they have a right to enjoy the fruits of their labor for a set time before worrying about competitors creating similar products to attempt to take any market share.
A patent can have a life span of up to 100 years.