Patent Registration
Patent Registration
A patent protects an invention (i.e. a solution to a technical problem), which may relate to a product or process. The owner of a registered patent has an exclusive right to use his invention and can take legal action to prevent any person from using, selling, or importing the patented invention in the relevant jurisdiction without permission. Such owner may also seek reliefs against the infringer, such as injunction and claim for damages.
Only new inventions are registrable. Moreover, novelty is a requirement before an invention can be patentable. Hence, the invention must not be part of a prior art or known to the public before the filing date of the patent application, or before its priority date, if the applicant claims priority of an earlier patent application.
New products such as tools, toys, medical equipment and pharmaceutical products are patentable. New manufacturing methods and software-related inventions are likewise patentable. However, artistic creation, mathematical models, theories, treatments or diagnostic methods, and abstract knowledge, ideas or methods are not patentable.