Patent Law and Food Innovation

Patent Law is a legal field designed to promote technological innovation. Patent rights ensure exclusivity of rights to commercialize and explore innovation and in this sense are a fundamental mechanism to attract investment, ensure revenue streams and foster innovation. The relative relevance of patent rights depends on sectors of activity, business models and the nature of both the underlying invention and the commercialized products. This entry briefly explores the importance of patent law in the food sector and explains the basic features of patent law, such as, what can be the object of a patent, the requirements for protection, exceptions from patentability and how these specifically affect the patentability of innovations in the food sector, whether these pertain to agricultural plant and animal production or industrial food products, and processes for food production.