This is the 12912th most frequent Spanish word.
patentes
Patentes: patents or licenses granting exclusive rights to an invention.
In this sentence, 'patentes' is used to refer to intellectual property rights that safeguard inventions.
Las patentes protegen las innovaciones tecnológicas.
Patents protect technological innovations.
Here, 'patentes' is used as an adjective meaning 'evident' or 'obvious'.
Las ideas menos patentes suelen ser las más interesantes.
Less obvious ideas are often the most interesting.
In this example, 'patentes' is again an adjective used to signify that something is clear or noticeable.