Support

Enablement asks whether your document teaches the invention. Support asks whether it teaches this claim.

In simple words

The requirement that every claim be fairly based on the matter disclosed in the specification - that what you claim is what you described, no wider.

Think of it as

The fence must sit on land you actually described.

Why it matters

Support is what stops an applicant from describing one narrow embodiment and then claiming an entire field. It is also what stops you rescuing a claim during prosecution by adding a limitation you never disclosed.

A simple example

You describe a device that works at 60 to 80 degrees. Claiming “any elevated temperature” is unsupported. Later trying to amend to “70 to 75 degrees”, when only the range 60 to 80 was ever disclosed, may also fail if that narrower range was never described.

Common mistake

Confusing support with enablement. A claim can be enabled and still unsupported, and the objections are answered differently.

Where it comes from

Patents Act 1970, section 10(4)(c) and 10(5); amendment limits in sections 57 and 59