Pharmaceutical companies do not always seek patent protection in every country, due to, inter alia, a perceived lack of market size. Therefore, it is possible that in some countries, despite the existence of a national patent law, certain pharmaceutical substances remain off-patent and may be freely used, made and imported in that country. Should the original inventor change his/her mind seek patent protection at a later point, the application would be rejected for lack of novelty if the substance at issue has been made available to the public prior to the filing of the patent application.