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Applying for a patent

Patentability
What are the criteria for patentability in your jurisdiction?

Patents must comply with Article 14 of Decision 486 in relation to Article 27 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, which provides that patents must be new, involve an inventive step and be capable of industrial application.

What are the limits on patentability?

The following are not patentable:

  • inventions whose commercial exploitation is contrary to public order or morality; however, the commercial exploitation of an invention will not be considered contrary to public order or morality solely because a legal or administrative provision prohibits or regulates its exploitation;
  • inventions whose commercial exploitation may cause substantial harm to the health or life of humans or animals or cause harm to plants or the environment; however, the commercial exploitation of an invention will not be considered harmful solely because a legal or administrative provision prohibits or regulates its exploitation;
  • plants, animals and essentially biological processes for the production of plants or animals, other than non-biological and microbiological processes; and
  • therapeutic, surgical or diagnostic methods of treatment for humans or animals.

To what extent can inventions covering software be patented?

Software is covered under copyright.

To what extent can inventions covering business methods be patented?

Business methods cannot be patented, but they can be registered as copyrights or trade secrets.

Any undisclosed information that a natural or legal person legitimately holds which can be used in any productive, industrial or commercial activity and is capable of being transmitted to a third party is deemed to be a business secret.

To what extent can inventions relating to stem cells be patented?

Stem cells cannot be patented. Article 15 of Decision 486 states that the following cannot be patented: 

“b) all or part of living beings as encountered in nature, natural biological processes, biological material existing in nature or which may be isolated, including the genome or germplasm of any living thing.” (Emphasis added.)

Are there restrictions on any other kinds of invention?

The following are not patentable:

  • inventions whose commercial exploitation is contrary to public order or morality; however, the commercial exploitation of an invention will not be considered contrary to public order or morality solely because a legal or administrative provision prohibits or regulates its exploitation;
  • inventions whose commercial exploitation may cause substantial harm to the health or life of humans or animals or cause harm to plants or the environment; however, the commercial exploitation of an invention will not be considered harmful solely because a legal or administrative provision prohibits or regulates its exploitation;
  • plants, animals and essentially biological processes for the production of plants or animals, other than non-biological and microbiological processes; and
  • therapeutic, surgical or diagnostic methods of treatment for humans or animals.