In order to grant a patent, you as a patent examiner have to examine an invention subject to three basic patentability criteria, as required under Article 27.1, TRIPS Agreement.

An invention has to be (1) new, involve an (2) inventive step, and must be capable of (3) industrial application.

This chapter will provide you with information on how those three eligibility requirements could be strictly applied in order to keep a broad public domain conducive to access to medicines.

Particular emphasis will be put on how those patentability criteria can limit the evergreening effect of new uses of known products and product derivatives in jurisdictions that have not already excluded them from patentable subject matter.