A patent is a right granted by an official body, such as the INPI in France, to an individual or company to recognize the origin of a discovery or industrial innovation. It grants its holder a monopoly on exploitation for a specified period, generally 20 years, subject to the payment of annual fees. The protection offered by a patent is directly linked to the claims formulated, which detail the nature and scope of the protection sought. Consequently, a patent acts as a barrier against counterfeiting and can serve as evidence in litigation against counterfeiters. It can be assigned or licensed for use by third parties. Therefore, a patent represents an industrial property right, as do utility certificates and supplementary protection certificates associated with a patent.

To be patentable, an invention must meet three cumulative criteria: it must be new, have an industrial application, and be inventive. Medicines can be protected by a “special medicinal product patent” (SMP). The strategic impact of a patent depends on its interactions with the market within the innovation process. Therefore, a patent lies between the invention stage, stemming from research, and the innovation stage, in an iterative process involving research, production, and innovation.

The Intellectual Property Code specifies that new inventions involving an inventive step and an industrial application are patentable. However, the following are not considered inventions: discoveries, scientific theories, mathematical methods, aesthetic creations, plans, principles, intellectual methods, games, economic activities, computer programs, and presentations of information. An invention is considered new if it is not already known.