It can be disheartening and costly to
discover, after months of effort and
investment, that your patent application
is not allowed because your invention
is not new. To avoid this, you should
carry out a search through published
patents and other documents such as
trade catalogues before applying. You
can either:
• carry out a search yourself – see
our booklet Patents: Essential
Reading – although the results
might not be as comprehensive as
you would want; or
• pay an organisation to do a search
for you, such as a patent attorney .
No. An invention can only be patented
if it is:
• new – not already known to the
public before the date a patent is
applied for;
• inventive – not an obvious
modification of what is already
known; and
• capable of industrial application,
that is, can be made or used in any
kind of industry.
In other words, your invention must
make a technical contribution. This
means you can’t, for example, patent
a business method unless it involves
some technical innovation. Inventions
relating to computer software may
be patentable, but only if they involve
something more than just software
running on a computer in a technically
ordinary way.
Other ideas that cannot be patented are:
• scientific or mathematical
discoveries, theories or methods;
• literary, dramatic, musical or artistic
works;
• schemes, rules or methods for
performing a mental act; and
• methods of medical treatment.
If you are not sure if your invention is or
isn’t excluded, contact the office or ask
a patent attorney
if it is:
• new – not already known to the
public before the date a patent is
applied for;
• inventive – not an obvious
modification of what is already
known; and
• capable of industrial application,
that is, can be made or used in any
kind of industry.
In other words, your invention must
make a technical contribution. This
means you can’t, for example, patent
a business method unless it involves
some technical innovation. Inventions
relating to computer software may
be patentable, but only if they involve
something more than just software
running on a computer in a technically
ordinary way.
Other ideas that cannot be patented are:
• scientific or mathematical
discoveries, theories or methods;
• literary, dramatic, musical or artistic
works;
• schemes, rules or methods for
performing a mental act; and
• methods of medical treatment.
If you are not sure if your invention is or
isn’t excluded, contact the office or ask
a patent attorney
You may also be interested in :
No. You could consider protecting
different aspects of your product or
process using one or more of the
following.
• Registered design
• Registered trade marks
• Unregistered design right and
copyright
• Secrecy, private ‘know-how’ and
confidentiality agreements
For more information about these
different forms of intellectual property,
visit our website or contact our
Information Centre.
different aspects of your product or
process using one or more of the
following.
• Registered design
• Registered trade marks
• Unregistered design right and
copyright
• Secrecy, private ‘know-how’ and
confidentiality agreements
For more information about these
different forms of intellectual property,
visit our website or contact our
Information Centre.
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