There is a statutory exclusion in many jurisdictions which prevents a patent being awarded for a discovery. Finally, the invention must be novel and inventive over prior public disclosures. The invention must be capable of industrial application and it must be possible to describe the invention in enough detail to enable it to be worked by a skilled person in the field. To obtain a UK or European patent for an invention, the invention must not be excluded from patentability under certain statutory exclusions. With this in mind, would it be possible to obtain patent protection for a new chemical element today? Since 1977 various international treaties have also made subtle changes to patent laws around the world. In Europe, the European Patent Convention became effective in 1977 and many European jurisdictions heavily modified their patent law as a consequence. Patent law in many jurisdictions has evolved significantly since the 1960s. I do not know whether this US patent was ever enforced or licensed, but one can imagine it being commercially useful in today’s world. These must be some of the shortest patent claims ever drafted!Īmericium is widely used in smoke detectors, so patent protection for this element could have been very useful. For the dedicated patent scholars out there, it is worth taking a look at claim 1 in each of these patents. The patent specifications can be found here and here. In 1964, the USPTO granted a patent for element 95 (Americium) and element 96 (Curium). Turning now to patent law, I was curious as to whether a chemical element has ever been patented and indeed whether it would be possible to patent any newly synthesised element today.Įlements 95 and 96 (Americium and Curium) The UNESCO designation is a fitting tribute to the world famous table. As well as being an excellent reference tool for the properties of individual elements, it provides a very useful indication of trends and relationships between the elements. The periodic table is an iconic display of key information relating to the chemical elements. To mark this occasion events are being held across the world throughout 2019. To mark the International Year of the Periodic Table, Zack Mummery takes a look at the unusual question of whether individual chemical elements could be patented.Ģ019 has been designated by UNESCO as the International Year of the Periodic Table.
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