The Requirement for an Invention in Patent Law

This book provides a critical analysis of legal conceptions of the invention in UK patent law and under the European Patent Convention. A central theme of the book is that the requirement for an invention, properly construed, sets the boundaries of the patent system in two ways. The first is by defining the categories of subject matter capable of supporting a patent, and the second is by restricting the protection conferred by a patent to individual subject matter conceived qua invention.