There would be no need to protect short lived innovations from wholesale copying for a period of more than a few years. This right, which could last for up to 20 years, could be preceded by a much briefer period of market exclusivity for the inventor (e.g. one or two years), in order to give him the opportunity to establish his brand. Under the subsequent, longer period of compensation, the original innovator would be prevented from blocking the access of competitors to his innovation, unless wholesale duplication is sought. Competitors would be authorized not only to use the innovation for research activities to develop a superior product, but also to make and sell that product. This differs from a utility model or patent regime, under which an experimental use or research exception may enable competitors to use the protected substance for improvement-oriented research, but not for the sale or other commercialization of the results of their research before the expiry of the underlying product patent, unless a license (voluntary or compulsory) is granted (see below, Section 3.1.2, experimental use exception).