Patent Attorney and Founder
Inventors, entrepreneurs, visionaries, and business leaders often have a critical question as they navigate innovation: What can and can’t be patented? Knowing what is patentable subject matter is essential for innovators in any field. You create many ideas, but not all will result in a patentable invention. Understanding what is and isn’t a patent is necessary for obtaining and protecting your intellectual property (IP) rights and profiting from your invention.
The team at Bold Patents can help you create a useful and protected asset from your invention. We help many inventors navigate the requirements of patentable subject matter. Your innovation may be in biotech, business methods, software, automation, e-commerce, health tech, or many other industries.
Our firm can review your creation to determine if you have a patentable idea and how to secure the protections you need.
What Is Patentable Subject Matter?
Patents are obtained through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The USPTO sets the guidelines for what is patentable material. In order for your invention to be patentable, it must fit into one of the following categories:
- A process, a method, or a mode of treatment to create a certain result, like a new process for manufacturing a consumer product or the method of a new software algorithm
- A machine, a tangible, functional device with parts or a combination of devices, such as a new medical device or a unique motor
- A manufacture or a physical item that is altered for a new form, use, or quality through man-made or artificial methods, ranging from consumer products to components in industrial machinery
- A composition of matter or a combination of two or more substances, including chemical compounds, new materials such as plastics, or pharmaceuticals
Even if your invention meets these requirements, this does not automatically make it patentable. The invention must also be novel, useful, and non-obvious. It also cannot fall into the excluded categories for patentable materials.
What Can’t Be Patented?
There are certain things excluded from patentable subject matter, including:
- Abstract ideas, including fundamental truths, math formulas, or general concepts
- Laws of nature, such as natural phenomena or scientific principles, like gravity or photosynthesis
- Natural products, such as a plant or a gene sequence found in nature. A natural product must be modified or applied in a novel way to potentially be considered patentable
- Mental processes, such as intangible thought-based ideas or concepts of decision-making
- Pure software algorithms, like code that automates known and existing processes – this may be patentable if there is a new and unique improvement made
- Business methods, when they are general strategies – more specific business methods, particularly those with technical innovations, may be patentable
Fields of Patentable Subject Matter
Industries have unique challenges for patentable subject matter. Inventors should consider applications in the following:
- Software and artificial intelligence (AI)
Machine learning models that improve efficiency are patentable, while an app that digitizes a process is not.
- Biotech and pharmaceuticals
You could patent a newly created compound or technique for gene editing, but not a naturally occurring sequence.
- Mechanical and electrical inventions
A new motor type could be patented, but not minor changes to a device.
- Business methods and finances
A security system in blockchain technology could be patented, but investment risk calculation methods could not be.
The Process of Patenting
If you have a patentable idea, we can help you protect it through:
- Conducting patent searches and prior art searches to determine if your idea is new
- Drafting your application accurately and completely
- Addressing examiner concerns and responding to office actions
- Navigating the approval of the patent, enforcing your rights, and profiting from your patent
Why Is it Important to Work With a Patent Attorney?
Working with a patent attorney is essential to understand what is patentable and can help you avoid costly mistakes. The USPTO had a patent inventory of 600,540 in 2024, higher than the previous three years. The highest patent inventory the USPTO had in the past 10 years was in 2019, with 619,089 patents, including utility, plant, and reissue patents. In 2024, the USPTO came to a final decision on 532,858 total patents, including acceptances and rejections.
With the vast number of applications in the office’s system, it is crucial that your application is done right, meets the requirements for a patentable invention, and is framed in the proper way. This can help avoid expensive mistakes, such as framing your invention in a way that receives a USPTO rejection.
At Bold Patents, we provide experienced legal guidance in many areas, including:
- Assessing parenting eligibility prior to investing time and money to file
- Drafting effective applications that meet the USPTO guidelines
- Negotiating and navigating eligibility rejection
- Maximizing your IP value by creating effective strategies for protection
FAQs
What Subject Matter Is Not Patent Eligible?
Your invention is not patent-eligible if it is not new or is an obvious derivative of an existing invention. This is why patent and art searches are a crucial part of the patent process. A patent search determines if your invention has been previously patented and gathers information on patents related to your invention. You can show how they are different, and how your invention innovates on the design. An art search looks at all disclosed inventions.
What Is Section 101 Patentable Subject Matter?
Section 101 patentable subject matter lists that there are four categories of appropriately patentable material under utility patent requirements, including:
- Processes
- Machines
- Manufacturers
- Compositions of matter
A Section 101 rejection means that the examiner believes the invention submitted for a patent is ineligible based on its type and subject matter, such as being an abstract idea with no tangible and usable invention.
What Subject Matter Is Excluded From a Patent?
There are set guidelines by the USPTO that exclude certain things from being patented, including:
- Something that is a law of nature
- Existing physical phenomena
- An abstract idea, concept, or suggestion without tangibility
- Inventions for nuclear material or atomic energy in atomic weapons
Your invention also cannot be patented if it is only theoretical, it has been made before, it is a derivative of an existing invention, or there is no description of the use and making of the invention.
What Are Examples of Patentable Items?
There are three types of patents available with the USPTO:
- Utility patents are novel and useful processes, machines, manufactures, or matter compositions. It also includes non-obvious improvements of those inventions.
- Design patents, which are an original and inventive ornamental design of a manufactured article, are placed on the article if it cannot be separated from the article.
- Plant patents protect a distinct and new variety of plants that are invented or discovered through reproduction.
Protect Your Invention
Talk with Bold Patents today to determine if your invention is patentable.
Let us help you defend your bold invention.