Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Patent definition

What does Patent mean? A patent is a registrable intellectual property right used in practice to protect a technical invention by giving the owner, in the relevant territory, the exclusive right to stop others making, using, selling or importing the claimed invention without consent. In the UK (England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) and Ireland, the regime is statutory (Patents Act 1977; Patents Act 1992) and aligned with the European Patent Convention, so usage is broadly consistent. To be patentable, an invention must be new, involve an inventive step, be capable of industrial application and not fall within excluded subject matter (for example,...

UK Patent Invalidity and Revocation: Claim Construction, Novelty, Obviousness, Industrial Application, Exclusions, Entitlement, Insufficiency, Added Matter and Loss of Priority

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Practice notes

The rationale behind Patents

Patents safeguard novel Inventions and are intended to drive innovation by rewarding the owner with a period of 20 years or more during which they can stop others from infringing—that is, making, using, importing or selling the invention without permission. For further guidance, see Practice Note: Patent infringement.

In the UK, patents are granted after a formal filing and assessment. During this phase—known as patent prosecution—a patent examiner at the relevant Intellectual property office (for example, the UK Intellectual Property Office or the European Patent Office (EPO)) reviews whether the claimed invention is patentable (meets the patentability criteria) and whether the application satisfies specified formalities.

Practice Notes: Patentability and exclusions from patentability
Patent applications—how to obtain patent protection in the UK
European patents—application procedure

Following Brexit, the UK remains within the European patent system and may still be designated in European patent applications, because the EPO and the European Patent Convention (EPC)—the international treaty setting out the procedure for granting European patents via the EPO—are both independent of the EU...

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Web page updated on 27/05/2026

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