Comprise of technical features/inventions mostly (industrial property) under Article 52 EPC and Article 27 TRIPS. Patents are not really harmonized on EU level, although there is the EPC through which you can apply for a European Patent, when such patent is granted it will fall apart into national patents which are still subject to national laws (so, centralized application system, but result remains national).
There will be true harmonization when the Agreement on the Unified Patent Court comes into force (is currently being ratified) and thereby the Unitary Patent Regulation (entered into force in 2013) will become applicable. Several prerequisites exist but the general ones are stated under Art. 52 EPC comprising of:
Prerequisite 1: Inventive Step
Article 56 EPC: It solves a problem (look at the claim). Problem-solution approach: Firstly, identify the closest prior art (closest/most similar to the invention), Secondly, identify the problem that your patent solves. Lastly, the solution must be not obvious to the “Man skilled in the art” (no expert, just skilled in the industry)
A combination of common elements can be an inventive step if it gives a surprising plus effect is how you solve a problem/have an inventive product.
Prerequisite 2: Novelty
Article 54 The invention must be novel over the state of the art (already existing inventions). The prior art is all existing information (does not have to be a patent) available to the public (published articles, oral disclosure (reported), use (trade exhibition).
Article 55 EPC: Breach of non-disclosure does not result in prior art and if all features of a product/invention are known in the state of the art, prior to filing, it is not novel and a minor amendment to product or the claim is advised
Prerequisite 3: Industrial Application
Article 57 EPC: It needs to have a tangible effect on nature. Yet, software is a topic of discussion whether it is applicable in the industry or not. Originally not, since it only indirectly can have an effect on nature. In US software is now patentable, and in the EU as well under the condition that it is attached to hardware.
Rationale:
A patent is a temporary for 20 years and monopoly over what you have invented, so that you prevent others from using it; it acts as an incentive for research/development and invention. Pharmaceutical patents can thus be seen as a focal point of wider debates about the underlying question of whether patents, as the hardest IP form created to protect inventions and promote innovation, are potentially detrimental for development or not as mentioned above in answer to question 1 (c). Patents can also facilitate financing for start-ups by signalling that a firm has valuable assets. To obtain a patent, one must disclose the technical knowledge behind the invention.
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