In research methodology, understanding the criteria for patentability is essential because it ensures that an invention can be legally protected, allowing the inventor to gain exclusive rights. Patentability generally requires that an invention meets several key criteria, including novelty, inventive step or non-obviousness, industrial applicability, and sufficiency of disclosure. The first and most fundamental criterion is novelty. An invention must be new, meaning it should not have been disclosed in any prior art anywhere in the world before the date of filing the patent application. Prior art includes published literature, existing patents, or any public disclosure through presentations, sales, or other means. If the invention has been previously known or used, it cannot be patented. This ensures that only truly original contributions receive patent protection. The second criterion is the inventive step, also known as non-obviousness. Even if an invention is novel, it must involve an inventive step that is