In accordance to the Law of the Republic of Belarus "On patents for inventions, utility models, industrial designs", the patent shall be granted for any invention that is novel, involves an inventive step and is industrially applicable.

An invention shall be considered novel if it is not anticipated by prior art. Separate items of the prior art may only be taken into account separately for the purpose of determining the novelty of the invention.

The prior art shall consist of any kind of information made available in the world before the date of filing of the application or, where priority is claimed, before the priority date of the application.

For the purpose of determining the novelty of an invention, prior art shall also be considered to include the subject matter of any application for the grant of the patent as originally filed, provided that the application or the patent granted on it is subsequently published in the prescribed manner and that the filing date of such an application or, where priority is claimed, its priority date precedes the corresponding date specified in the third subparagraph above. The content of the international application shall comprise the prior art as from the filing date of the application, or, where priority is claimed, as from the priority date.

An invention shall be considered to involve an inventive step if, having regard to the prior art, it is not obvious to a person skilled in the art.

An invention shall be considered industrially applicable if it can be used in industry, agriculture, public health or other fields of human activity.

Disclosure of information relating to the invention that otherwise would affect its patentability shall not do so where the information relating to the subject matter of the invention has been made available to the public not earlier than during the twelve months preceding the filing date of, or the priority date claimed for, the application, by the inventor or applicant or by any person having obtained the information directly or indirectly from them. The burden of proof of the circumstances of disclosure shall be on the applicant.

The following shall not, as such, be recognized as inventions as:

• discoveries;
• scientific theories and mathematical methods;
• presentation of information;
• symbols, schedules and rules;
• algorithms and computer programs;
• solutions concerning solely the outward appearance of manufactured goods and aimed at satisfying aesthetic requirements.

The above-listed subject matter shall not be recognized as inventions in those cases where the application or patent are directly pertinent to any of the above-listed subject matter as such;

The patents shall not be granted for:

• plant varieties and animal breeds;
• topology of integrated circuits;

Requirement of Unity of Invention

The application shall relate to one invention only or to a group of inventions so linked as to form a single inventive concept.

Where one and the same application relates to a group of inventions, the requirement of unity of invention shall be deemed to have been complied with only if there exists a technical relation between those inventions demonstrated through one or more identical or corresponding special technical features; "technical features" mean the technical elements that determine the contribution made to the prior art by each of the claimed inventions.

Where this requirement is not satisfied, the applicant shall be required to limit the application to one invention or to a group of inventions that satisfy the requirement of unity of invention set out in the preceding subparagraph and he may file one or more divisional applications for the other inventions or groups of inventions that satisfy the requirement of unity.