My Invention Might Not Work - Is It Patentable?

Answer - it could be.

Inventions must be novel and contain an inventive step in order to be capable of being protected by a patent. There has been some recent debate as to whether an "inventive step" requires the invention to be shown to work, or whether patentability requires only that the invention is worth trying. Overturning decisions from the lower courts the House of Lords has now given its view on this issue in Conor Medsystems Inc v Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Angiotech, a Canadian company, applied for a patent for a stent (preventing the walls of arteries collapsing). A problem associated with the insertion of stents is that this can sometimes cause tissue damage, which promotes the development of new tissue, which can itself narrow the healed artery (a process called restenosis). The stent which was the subject of the patent application is coated with taxol (a substance used in cancer treatments) to prevent restenosis.