Final answer:
The exclusive legal right to manufacture a product or to use a process is known as a patent, which is a temporary government-granted monopoly lasting typically for 20 years.
Step-by-step explanation:
The exclusive legal right to manufacture a product or to use a process is called a patent. A patent is a government rule that grants an inventor the exclusive rights to make, use, or sell their invention for a limited time. This system of intellectual property rights is designed to promote innovation and investment in new technology by providing a temporary monopoly to the patent holder.
A patent is the exclusive legal right granted by a government to an inventor to manufacture, use, or sell an invention for a certain number of years. It is a form of intellectual property rights that incentivizes innovation and protects the rights of inventors. For example, if a pharmaceutical firm has a patent on a new drug, no other firm can manufacture or sell that drug for a specific period of time, usually 20 years.
Typically, a patent for a new invention, such as a drug developed by a pharmaceutical firm, lasts for 20 years from the date of filing. After this period, others can manufacture or sell the invention without the need for permission from the patent holder.