A patent is a form of Intellectual Property protection that can be granted to inventors for a specific invention or innovation.
While holding a granted patent, an individual retains the exclusive right over how their invention is made, used, distributed or sold.
These rights last for a limited period which cannot be extended, in Australia, this is 20 years from the date of filing for a standard patent and 25 years for pharmaceutical patents.
Patentability
Not all inventions meet the criteria for a patent to be granted. Patentability relies on an invention being:
- New or novel: It cannot exist already (prior art) when compared to prior art.
- Useful: It must serve a purpose and can be made or used to enhance an industry.
- Inventive: It needs to be different enough to what already exists and it must be inventive and not obvious when compared to the prior art base.
- Of suitable subject matter: It must be patentable subject matter meaning it should be technology that is not excluded from being patentable.