'Patent': from the Latin 'patere', which means 'to lay open' (i.e. to make publicly available).
> 75% (150+) of nations worldwide have patent laws
TRIPS
Novelty
Utility
Non-obvious
Enablement
US
Novelty
Utility
Non-obvious
Enablement
***Not in public use or sale in the US for more than one year prior to date of filing the patent application.
EUROPE
Novelty
Utility
Inventiveness
Enablement
...invention must involve an inventive step in order to be patented. According to the law, a person with ordinary brain and skill in the art should not be able to derive the claims of the invention. This criterion is very similar to the US Criteria of non-obviousness.
INDIA
Novelty
Utility
Non-obvious
Enablement
***Not injurious to public health, morality or interest
***Not a process of treatment of human beings, animals or plants
***Not a new method of agriculture or horticulture