Patent ID: 8221827

Claim:
A patterning method for forming a pattern by transferring a concavo-convex pattern formed on a first template in a resist agent arranged between an underlying film formed on a substrate and the first template, the patterning method comprising: forming the underlying film on the substrate; acquiring information about a surface state of the underlying film; determining, based on the surface state, whether irregularity or foreign matter is present in a shot region in which a pattern is to be formed by the first template; forming a pattern corresponding to the concavo-convex pattern formed on the first template by solidifying the resist agent while the first template is brought close to the underlying film on the shot region at a certain distance with the resist agent therebetween when it is determined, at the determining, that no irregularity or foreign matter is present in the shot region; and solidifying the resist agent while a second template different from the first template is brought close to the underlying film on the shot region at a certain distance with the resist agent therebetween when it is determined, at the determining, that irregularity or foreign matter is present in the shot region.