Requirement of Patent Applications - Before a patent can be issued, following specific conditions must be, met :

(i) the invention must be new, (novelty) and should have utility;

(ii) it must be inventive (which means it Should not be obvious but should represent a real advance made through the insight of the inventor);

(iii) it must be disclosed (disclosure) in a way, which enables a person of normal skill to reproduce it;

(iv) the scope of protection to be granted II must be in proportion to the invention;

(v) it must relate to a technology, where patents are permitted (patentable).

The applicant needs to deposit (prior to application for patent) a sample of the material with an officially approved culture collection, which is equipped to store and handle it. The deposit of material serves the following important functions :

(i) it provides a reference material for any dispute about its novelty, or when a third party is using it without a licence from the patentee;

(ii) the deposited material provides for a source to enable others to use it, when they are legally free to do so (i.e. when the patent expires at the end of normal term).