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When is an invention patentable?

Inventions must be:

• NOVEL
  The novelty requirement means that the invention must be new and cannot have been publicly known before. The novelty requirement can have a profound effect on the patentability of an invention and inventors should be aware of the consequences – you are advised to contact the OTD to avoid inadvertent loss of patent rights due to public disclosure prior to protecting the IP.
   
• USEFUL
  The usefulness or utility necessitates that a patent requires inventions to have at least one specific use.
   
• NON-OBVIOUS
  This requirement of a patent means: a person knowledgeable in the field of use and with ordinary skill in the art would not likely develop the same invention. It differs from novelty in that novel inventions might only constitute insignificant changes. The non-obvious requirement thus is a significantly larger barrier whereby a patent examiner can disallow a patent even though it is not specifically disclosed anywhere in the prior art.