A patent is a form of intellectual property that grants its holder the exclusive right to make, use, sell, and import an invention for a limited period of time, typically 20 years from the filing date of the patent application. This legal protection is granted in exchange for the public disclosure of the invention. Patents are issued by national governments or regional patent offices and can cover a wide range of inventions, including processes, machines, manufacturing methods, chemical compositions, and improvements on existing inventions.

The main purpose of a patent is to encourage innovation by providing inventors with a temporary monopoly on their inventions. This exclusivity period allows inventors to potentially recoup their investment in research and development, and possibly profit from their invention. After the patent expires, the protected technology enters the public domain, allowing anyone to use or build upon the invention without infringement.

To be granted a patent, an invention must generally satisfy several criteria:

Novelty

The requirement of novelty means that the invention must be new and not part of the public domain. This means the invention cannot have been previously disclosed through any means, such as prior publication, presentation, or use anywhere in the world. The rationale behind this criterion is to ensure that patents are only granted for ideas that are genuinely new and have not been previously available to the public.
 

Inventive Step (Non-obviousness)

The inventive step, or non-obviousness requirement, is crucial in determining the patentability of an invention. It requires that the invention is not only new but also that it represents a significant enough advancement in the field that it would not be obvious to someone with expertise in that area. This criterion prevents the patenting of inventions that merely follow from standard industry practices or knowledge. The threshold for what constitutes an "inventive step" varies between jurisdictions but generally involves an element of surprise or unexpected development beyond the current state of the art.
 

Industrial Applicability (Utility)

Industrial applicability, or utility, means that the invention must have a practical application and be capable of being used in some kind of industry. This criterion ensures that the patent system is used to protect inventions that can be applied in practice and are not merely theoretical. The invention must offer some concrete benefit, be producible or usable, and have a replicable method of operation. This requirement ensures that the patents granted contribute to technological advancement by being practically applicable in real-world scenarios.

These three criteria—novelty, inventive step (non-obviousness), and industrial applicability (utility)—form the cornerstone of patent law worldwide. They ensure that the patent system rewards genuine innovation and contributes to technological progress, economic development, and public knowledge.