Definition of patentable invention

The definition of what constitutes a patentable invention is laid down in Article 52 EPC (patentable inventions).

Article 52(1) EPC:

European patents shall be granted for any inventions, in all fields of technology, provided that they are new, involve an inventive step and are susceptible of industrial application.

This paragraph lists four requirements for patentable subject-matter:

• invention
• new
• inventive step
• industrial application

These requirements are dealt with in the following sections.