p. 544. Patentability
- Paul TorremansPaul TorremansProfessor of Intellectual Property Law, University of Nottingham
Abstract
This chapter discusses the conditions for the patentability of an invention. According to s. 1(1) of the UK Patents Act 1977, a patent may be granted only for an invention in respect of which the following conditions are satisfied: (a) the invention is new; (b) it involves an inventive step; (c) it is capable of industrial application; and (d) the grant of a patent for it is not excluded by subsections (2) and (3). Section 1(2) states that discoveries, scientific theories, and mathematical methods cannot be regarded as inventions and are thus not patentable; likewise barred from this status are works properly found within copyright, schemes for performing a mental act, playing a game, or doing business and computer programs, and also the presentation of information. Section 1(3) limits the role of patents by denying their protection to offensive, immoral, or antisocial inventions.
