5.8.1 Patents
We saw in Chapter 4 that a patent is a right given to an inventor that allows him or her exclusively to reap the benefits from the invention over a specified period.To obtain a patent,application must be made to the Patent office in accordance with the procedure set out in the Patents Act 1997.To qualify for a patent,the invention must have certain characteristics laid down:it must be covered by the Act,it must be novel and it must include an inventive step.Some inventions would not qualify for a patent-for example,anything that has at any time before filing for the patent been made available to the public anywhere in the world by written or oral description,by use,or in any other way (s.2(2)).