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TITLE II PATENTABILITY 4. (1) Inventions which are susceptible of industrial application, which are new and which involve an inventive step shall be patentable. (2) The following, in particular, shall not be regarded as inventions within the meaning of the previous paragraph: (a) discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods; (b) literary or artistic works or any other aesthetic creation, as well as scientific works; (c) schemes, rules and methods for performing mental acts, playing games or doing business and programs for computers; (d) presentations of information. (3) The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall exclude patentability of the inventions mentioned therein only to the extent that the subject matter of the patent applied for includes one of them. (4) Methods for treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy and diagnostic methods practiced on the human or animal body shall not be regarded as inventions which are susceptible of industrial application within the meaning of paragraph (1), above. This provision shall not apply to products, in particular, substances or compositions, nor to inventions of apparatus or instruments for use in any of these methods. 5. (1) The following may not be the subject matter of a patent: (a) inventions whose publication or working would be contrary to public order or morality; (b) plant varieties coming under the protection of the Law of March 12, 1975, on the Protection of Plant Varieties [Ley de 12 de marzo de 1975 sobre proteccion de las obtenciones vegetales]; (c) animal varieties; (d) essentially biological processes for the production of plants or animals. (2) The provisions of subparagraphs (b), (c) and (d), above, shall not, however, apply to microbiological processes or to the products thereof. 6. (1) An invention shall be considered to be new if it does not form part of the state of the art. (2) The state of the art shall be held to comprise everything made available to the public in Spain or abroad by means of a written or oral description, by use, or by any other way, before the date of filing of the patent application. (3) Additionally, the content of Spanish patent or utility model applications as filed, of which the dates of filing are prior to the date referred to in the preceding paragraph and which were published on or after that date, shall be considered as comprised in the state of the art. 7. A disclosure of an invention shall not be taken into consideration in determining the state of the art if it occurred during the six months preceding the filing of the application with the Registry of Industrial Property and if it was due to, or in consequence of (a) an evident abuse in relation to the applicant or his legal predecessor; (b) the fact that the applicant or his legal predecessor has displayed the invention at an official or officially recognized exhibition. When filing his application, the applicant shall declare that the invention has in fact been exhibited and, in support of his statement, he shall submit the corresponding certificate within the period and under the conditions laid down in the regulations; (c) tests carried out by the applicant or by his legal predecessor, provided that they do not imply working the invention or offering it for sale. 8. (1) An invention shall be regarded as involving an inventive step when it does not result from the state of the art in a manner obvious to a person skilled in the art. (2) Where the state of the art includes documents such as those mentioned in Article 6(3), above, they shall not be taken into consideration when deciding upon the existence of an inventive step. 9. An invention shall be regarded as susceptible of industrial application when its object can be manufactured or used in any form of industry, including agriculture.

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