Can I patent software?

The simple answer here is yes. However, your software needs to meet certain legal requirements to be eligible for patent registration with the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

To benefit from 20 years of exclusive ownership and legal protection of a patent, your software must be:

• capable of industrial application;
• new;
• involve an inventive step;
• have utility; and
• not be of public knowledge or in use before the application.