diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/formula.rb b/Library/Homebrew/formula.rb
index 3a9f37f964..be1fdf5320 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/formula.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/formula.rb
@@ -941,7 +941,7 @@ class Formula
   end
 
   def prepare_patches
-    active_spec.add_legacy_patches(patches)
+    active_spec.add_legacy_patches(patches) if respond_to?(:patches)
 
     patchlist.grep(DATAPatch) { |p| p.path = path }
 
diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/test/test_patching.rb b/Library/Homebrew/test/test_patching.rb
index 0917316dd9..02c73ef8ed 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/test/test_patching.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/test/test_patching.rb
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ class PatchingTests < Homebrew::TestCase
   def test_patch_DATA_constant
     assert_patched formula("test", Pathname.new(__FILE__).expand_path) {
       def patches
-        Formula::DATA
+        :DATA
       end
     }
   end