Patents are granted for inventions such as new or improved products, product uses, products or apparatus.
A patent can be regarded as an agreement under which, in return for a full explanation of the invention, a monopoly is granted which permits the owner of the patent to prevent others using the invention for up to 20 years. Patent documents are therefore a valuable source of technical information and, by offering protection in exchange for information, provide incentives to invest in research and development.
To be patentable, an invention must be new and involve a degree of inventive merit.
"New" means there must be no public disclosure of the invention in the UK or elsewhere prior to filing a patent application.
To possess "inventive merit" or an "inventive step" a patent need not involve a significant technical advance. Many patents are granted for what may appear to be relatively small improvements. But patents for improvements can be extremely valuable, since it is often just such improvements which are of immediate commercial interest.