What is the difference between a machine and a manufacture in patent law?
In patent law, machines and manufactures are two distinct categories of statutory subject matter. The MPEP provides definitions for both:
Machine: “A machine is a ‘concrete thing, consisting of parts, or of certain devices and combination of devices.’ This category ‘includes every mechanical device or combination of mechanical powers and devices to perform some function and produce a certain effect or result.’“
Manufacture: “A manufacture is ‘a tangible article that is given a new form, quality, property, or combination through man-made or artificial means.’ … manufactures are articles that result from the process of manufacturing, i.e., they were produced ‘from raw or prepared materials by giving to these materials new forms, qualities, properties, or combinations, whether by hand-labor or by machinery.’“
The key difference is that a machine is typically a device with moving parts or circuitry that performs a function, while a manufacture is a tangible article that has been produced or modified by human intervention. Both categories require physical or tangible form.
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