If patent protection is required, an invention must not be disclosed to the public before a patent application has been filed. Once an application has been lodged in the Patents Office, the features of the invention, so far as described in the patent specification, may then be disclosed.

The usual first step in the process of obtaining patent protection is to file an application for a patent at the Irish Patents Office. This provides a limited measure of protection for the invention, and enables the commercial possibilities of the invention to be investigated, without invalidating a subsequent patent granted for that invention in Ireland or abroad.

An Irish patent application is effective only in the Republic of Ireland, but if applications in other countries are filed within a period of one year from the date of filing of the Irish application, then the original Irish application date can be claimed as a "priority" date under an International Convention to which most developed countries adhere.

Filing an application including a technical description of the invention, accompanied where appropriate by drawings, establishes a priority date and represents the cheapest way to begin the patenting process. However, in itself, this application is insufficient to achieve the grant of a patent, as it lacks so-called patent "claims". The claims are the legal language which define the scope of the monopoly being sought for the invention. Claims need not be filed until twelve months from the original filing date, and it is possible to exclude claims at the basic priority stage in order to defer expense. At any time within the twelve month period, the applicant has the option of completing the basic priority application by filing claims, or of filing a new application claiming the priority date of the initial application. The new application may be one or more of the following:

Short Term Patent
A short term Irish patent (duration 10 years) can be sought under a simplified procedure introduced by the Irish Patents Act, 1992. A short term patent will normally be granted within approximately six months, provided that the application includes patent claims.

Full Term Patent
A full term Irish patent (duration 20 years) can also be obtained but usually takes a number of years to be processed to grant, as the Irish Patents Office will not grant a full term Irish patent until evidence of patentability of the invention has been supplied. This evidence is usually a copy of a search conducted on a corresponding UK or European patent application or a search conducted by the Irish Patents Office.