Patenting your invention

What you can patent

You can use a patent to protect your invention. It gives you the right to take legal action against anyone who makes, uses, sells or imports it without your permission.

To be granted a patent, your invention must be all of the following:

• something that can be made or used
• new
• inventive - not just a simple modification to something that already exists

Patents are expensive and difficult to get. Before you apply, check if a patent is right for your business.

What you can’t patent

You can’t patent certain types of invention, including:

• literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works
• a way of doing business, playing a game or thinking
• a method of medical treatment or diagnosis
• a discovery, scientific theory or mathematical method
• the way information is presented
• some computer programs or mobile apps
• ‘essentially biological’ processes like crossing-breeding plants, and plant or animal varieties

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