GOV.UK
Patenting your invention
1. 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
- ‘essentially biological’ processes, eg crossing-breeding plants, and plant or animal varieties