There are essentially five substantive requirements that must be satisfied before any invention can be patented. These requirements together are commonly referred to as the patentability requirements. Each of these patentability requirements are discussed briefly below. Due to the fact that this article is a primer the focus is to provide the reader with a broad overview and not to exhaustively treat the many issues that can and do arise under each topic.

As you go through these five requirements for patentability it is important to remember that the first four of these requirements are binary in nature, meaning that the invention either satisfies them or not. Certainly a creative patent lawyer can offer evidence and arguments that can help save the day, but these requirements are either satisfied or not. The last requirement — the adequate description requirement — is one that is completely within the purview of the one who is writing the patent application. In other words, if you have an invention that satisfies the first four requirements you can still find yourself not entitled to a patent because you have not described the invention as the law requires. For this reason many inventors and virtually all companies hire a patent attorney or patent agent to assist them in preparation of a patent application.

• Patentable Subject Matter – 35 U.S.C. 101

• The Utility Requirement – 35 U.S.C. 101

• The Novelty Requirement – 35 U.S.C. 102

• The Nonobviousness Requirement – 35 U.S.C. 103

• Adequate Description Requirement – 35 U.S.C. 112

If you have additional questions about patent law or the invention process please take a look at the IPWatchdog Patent Page, which are to additional information regarding the invention process, US patent law and patent practice before the United States Patent Office.

If you feel you need the assistance of a patent attorney my firm, Zies Widerman & Malek, can help. I personally have been helping independent inventors and start-up companies since 1998, and I have developed a unique process, the Invent & Patent System™ efficiently and effectively creates patent applications with the cooperation of the inventor. This process reduces costs and creates a better product because rather than doing all the drafting I work together with the inventor to create the patent application. This process uncovers many additional aspects of the invention that can be protected and results in a far more detailed patent application than is typical.

Good luck!