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enablement

enablement

1 9.3
A clear description in a patent application that lets a skilled person make and use an invention
  • noun
  • /ɪˈneɪbəlmənt/
  • Formal
translation icon : suficiencia
  • The patent application must demonstrate sufficient enablement to allow a skilled person to replicate the invention.

Examples

  • The written description must meet the legal requirements of enablement and best mode.

    Academic text (2009)
  • "Enablement" means that the application must describe the invention well enough to enable a person of ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention without the need for undue experimentation.

    Academic text (2009)
  • A robust approach to determining which features to enable first must consider a number of factors that contribute to both the requirements for each enablement activity and the benefits it offers to the application.

    Blog text (29)
  • The ruling also decreed that the claims in question were invalid for lack of enablement.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Lack of enablement can lead to the rejection of a patent application if the inventor does not provide enough detail.

  • A key requirement for patent validity is enablement, ensuring that others can use the invention without undue experimentation.

Antonyms

8 6.1

Lack of clear or exact meaning that makes things hard to understand

How Detailed

enablement
  • Formal
1 9.3
disclosure
176 4.1

Surface Forms

enablement singular
enablements plural

Morphology

enablement = enable (semi-transparent) = en + able + ment

The form is regular and transparent, but the patent-law sense is a specialized technical usage that learners may not infer without prior exposure.

Etymology

Enablement comes from the parts en- meaning 'make' and able meaning 'able', the same root as ability. In patent law it means giving enough information to make an invention 'able' to be made and used, so enablement is the requirement to make the invention possible to build.