What is a Patent?
https://havip.com.vn/en/filing-patent-in-myanmar.htmlA patent is a statutorily granted, time‑limited monopoly on an invention, fostering innovation while supporting public knowledge and economic development. Rooted in strict patentability criteria and territorial scope, patents serve as strategic tools, but invite scrutiny regarding monopoly misuse and litigation complexity. In 2025, as AI and software domains evolve, patent law faces new tests. HAVIP Co., Ltd. hereby explores the nuances of patents—what they are?
What is a Patent?
A patent is a form of intellectual property right granted by a governmental authority, offering the exclusive right to exclude others from making, using, selling, or importing a patented invention for a limited period. This legal monopoly is granted in exchange for full public disclosure of the invention.
Generally, ‘Patent’ means a technical solution, in the form of a product or a process, aimed at solving a specific problem by applying the laws of nature.
Technical solution refers to the use of technical means (such as machines, apparatus, materials, etc.) to address a concrete problem encountered in production or daily life.
In the form of a product or a process:
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- A product may encompass devices, materials, chemical compounds, and the like.
- A process may include manufacturing methods, treatment technologies, or other procedural operations.
Application of the laws of nature signifies that the invention must be grounded in natural principles, and must not consist merely of abstract theories, mental acts, business methods, or social conventions.
Protection Regimes
- An invention satisfying the statutory requirements of novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability is eligible for protection by a Patent Certificate.
- Inventions lacking an inventive step but still possessing novelty and industrial applicability may alternatively be protected as a utility solution.
Core Requirements for Patentability
To secure patent protection, an invention must typically satisfy five criteria:
- patentable subject matter
- utility
- novelty
- non-obviousness
- enablement
Patentable Subject Matter
The invention must fall within statutory categories – process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter – and exclude abstract ideas, laws of nature, or physical phenomena.
Utility (Industrial Applicability)
The invention must have practical purpose or industrial application.
Novelty
An invention must be new. It cannot have been previously disclosed publicly.
Non‑Obviousness (Inventive Step)
It must not be obvious to a skilled person in the field at the time of filing. The classical Hotchkiss v. Greenwood case introduced this legal principle.
The test of the Hotchkiss case may be described as: whether, at the time the claimed invention was made, the differences between the features of the claimed invention and the things that persons skilled in the relevant art already knew were such that it would have been within the level of skill of an ordinary artisan in that art to combine those known features to make the claimed invention.
Enablement
The patent application must describe the invention in sufficient detail that a person skilled in the art can reproduce it.
