What types of subject matter may be patented?
1. Utility Patents There are four classes of inventions that may be patented, as indicated in 35 U.S.C. sec. 101: 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 therefore… A. Process A series of steps or acts directed to the obtaining of a desired result. Examples: a chemical process; the method of making a product; the method of using a product. B. Machine or Apparatus “Machine” includes a combination of moving, mechanical parts adapted to receive motion and applied in the production of a mechanical result. The term also includes static devices. Examples: a mechanical, electrical, or electromechanical device for producing predetermined efforts. C. Manufacture Individual articles which do not operate of themselves. The various elements of a machine, considered separately, would be included. Examples: chair, ring, table. D. Composition of Matter A product formed by in
