The phrase "an inventive step" is correct and usable in written English.
It is typically used in the context of patent law to refer to a feature of an invention that is not obvious to someone skilled in the relevant field.
Example: "The invention must demonstrate an inventive step to qualify for patent protection."
Alternatives: "a creative step" or "an innovative step".
Although patent laws and requirements differ among nations, in general patents are granted if inventions are "new, involve an inventive step and are susceptible of industrial application" (Article 52, EPC 2016).
Citing Article 27 of TRIPS, which "generally mandates patentability where inventions are new, involve an inventive step (or are non-obvious), and are capable of industrial application (or are useful)" [ 5], Novartis claims that imatinib mesylate represented an "inventive step" in the drug development process due to its 30% increase in bioavailability [ 5].
This law provided that all inventions, products or processes which were "new, involve an inventive step and are industrially applicable," were patentable (Sec.2)[ 17].
It argues that Gilead did not take "an inventive step" in developing the drug, because the real breakthrough was by researchers at Cardiff University at an earlier stage.
The TRIPS Agreement requires all member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to extend patent protection to "any inventions, whether products or processes, in all fields of technology, provided that they are new, involve an inventive step and are capable of industrial application".
The requirement of non-obviousness or of the existence of an inventive step found in all national patent systems thus theoretically prevents the patentability of plant varieties, unless the criteria for such patentability are revised or re-interpreted with lower standards (Barton and Berger [2001]).
And this movie, his first, is a brilliantly inventive step in that direction.
For a patent to be granted the inventive step involved must not be "obvious" to a skilled person in the area.
This development is just another inventive step in a long line of moves making people accountable for their actions, so that over time, less bad behaviour happens as a result much like the transparency of companies like Uber and AirBnB, where your feedback is as simple as the equivalent of a text.
However, it did not require the "inventive step" – the advance that constitutes a patentable "invention" – to itself be physical.
In addition, although the definition of novelty closely follows that required for a standard patent in Australia, the usual inventive step requirement is replaced by "innovative step", which is intended to be a less demanding provision.
