What types of inventions are considered patentable?
According to 35 U.S.C. 101, patentable inventions include:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
This statute outlines four main categories of patentable subject matter: processes, machines, manufactures, and compositions of matter. Improvements to existing inventions in these categories may also be patentable.
For more detailed information on what is not considered patentable, refer to MPEP §§ 2104 – 2109 and 2157.
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