off-patentadv.adj.
/ɒfˈpatnt/, /ɒfˈpeɪtnt/, U.S. /ˈɔfˈpætnt/, /ˈɑfˈpætnt/ A. adv.
Out of patent restrictions. to come (or go) off-patent: to come out of patent restriction; to become available for generic manufacture (used esp. with reference to drugs).
ΚΠ
1976 Forbes 15 Dec. 30/1 Its big seller in tranquilizers, called Thorazine, was coming off patent, and there was nothing to replace it.
1977 Business Week 17 Jan. 80/2 Most of today's top-selling drugs will be off patent by 1980.
1985 Science 26 Apr. 472 Valium is the first major product to go off patent under the legislation.
2001 Environment (Electronic ed.) Oct. Companies are losing their monopolies on many chemical [pesticide] products as the products come ‘off-patent’.
B. adj.
Usually with hyphen. Of a product, esp. a drug: no longer the subject of a patent licence; available for generic manufacture.
ΚΠ
1978 Dumfries Courier 20 Oct. 13/3 The company will market a wide range of off-patent herbicides, fungicides and insecticides.
1995 Mother Jones Apr. 65/1 Older, off-patent, and highly hazardous pesticides.
2002 Business Week 25 Feb. 129/3 Alprostadil..an off-patent drug that has been used..as an injectable treatment for ED.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adv.adj.1976