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Patentable inventions will meet certain criteria. To decide whether the creations are patentable inventions the following will be examined:
Natural phenomena, abstract ideas and laws of nature cannot become patentable inventions. A person can thus not take credit for something that occurs naturally, is a scientific natural law or is a theory. With that being said, you will find it extremely difficult to patent a mathematical formula because it is an abstract idea and can also fall in the category of law of nature.
A business method will also not be patentable, great as it may be. If the invention falls within one of the above categories, it will not qualify for patent rights.
The usefulness of the invention is a second requirement. This is not a difficult test to pass. Patentable inventions must only pass this test in part.
Failure to assign some use to the invention, lack of supporting information, and information inconsistent with the logical working of such an invention will hinder the possibility that the invention will pass the test.
The third requirement is that of novelty. You have to ensure that the invention was not published before application date, that there has been no reference to such or a similar invention in any media and that there is no other application or registration for such or similar.
A novelty search is conducted through databases, the patent register, newspapers, trade journals, and more to establish whether the invention is indeed unique.
Obviousness will mean that the invention fail the test for patentability. For this test, a person skilled in the trade must find the invention not to be obvious. If you simply take a few prior inventions and combine them, then it will not pass the test for obviousness.
A final requirement for patentable inventions has to do with the description. The patent description must be done in such a manner that it can be used by other people.
If you need help in registering a patent, get in contact with the lawyers of Smit & Van Wyk for expert help.
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