Under the Patents Act, 1970, what are the three essential criteria that an invention must satisfy to be patentable?

Under Section 2(j) of the Patents Act, 1970, an "invention" is defined as a new product or process involving an inventive step and capable of industrial application. The three essential criteria for patentability are: (i) Novelty (Section 2(1)(l)) the invention must not have been anticipated by prior publication or public use anywhere in the world before the filing date; India follows the principle of absolute novelty; (ii) Inventive Step (Section 2(1)(ja)) the invention must not be obvious to a person skilled in the relevant field, i.e., it must involve a technical advance over existing knowledge; and (iii) Industrial Application (Section 2(1)(ac)) the invention must be capable of being made or used in some kind of industry. The term "originality" is a copyright concept, not a patent concept confusing the two is a common error in examinations. An invention satisfying all three criteria but falling within the exclusions of Sections 3 and 4 will still not be patentable.