Qualifying assets refers to computer programs, qualifying patents, plant breeders rights and supplementary certificates e.g. under Council Regulation (EC) No. 469/2009, which are the result of R&D, may qualify for relief. Qualifying patents means: any patent granted following a substantive examination for inventive step; any patent granted prior to 1 January 2016; and a patent granted between 1 Jan 2016 and 1 Jan 2017 without a full examination which is certified by a patent agent as having met the patentability criteria. Short term patents, petty patents and utility models are excluded. Marketing and brand-related IP are excluded. Irish patent legislation follows the patentability criteria set out in the European Patent Convention. In order to qualify for the KDB under the third category of IP, the IP asset must be certified as patentable, meaning it meets the patentability criteria and is not yet part of the prior art at a given date, but has not been patented.