Old man sheltered and legally protected (8)

I believe the answer is:

patented

'legally protected' is the definition.

'old man sheltered' is the wordplay.
'old man' becomes 'pa' (both can mean father).
'sheltered' becomes 'tented'.
'pa'+'tented'='PATENTED'

'and' is the link.

(Another definition for patented that I've seen is " Like an invention".)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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