What is industrial applicability in the context of international patent applications?
Industrial applicability is a key criterion in the assessment of international patent applications. According to PCT Article 33(4), industrial applicability is defined as follows:
“For the purposes of the international preliminary examination, a claimed invention shall be considered industrially applicable if, according to its nature, it can be made or used (in the technological sense) in any kind of industry. ‘Industry’ shall be understood in its broadest sense, as in the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.”
This definition emphasizes that an invention must have practical utility in any industrial context, interpreted broadly to encompass various fields of technology and commerce.
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