What kind of inventions can be patented

But a new drug that has no theoretical basis and which has not yet been tested will not qualify for a patent. Only a utility patent requires an invention to be useful: To qualify for a design or plant patent—the other two types of patents obtained in the U. The USPTO issues three different kinds of patents : utility patents, design patents, and plant patents.

If an invention fits into one of the categories described above, it is known as "statutory subject matter" and has passed the first test in qualifying for a patent. But an inventor's creation must overcome several additional hurdles before the USPTO will issue a patent. The invention must also:. For design patents, the law requires that the design be novel, nonobvious, and nonfunctional. For example, a new shape for a car fender, a bottle, or a flashlight that doesn't improve its functionality would qualify.

Finally, plants may qualify for a patent if they are both novel and nonobvious. Plant patents are issued less frequently than any other type of patent, since they generally are finales by large agricultural or pharmaceutical companies. The information provided on this site is not legal advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or will be formed by use of the site.

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Please reference the Terms of Use and the Supplemental Terms for specific information related to your state. Grow Your Legal Practice. Meet the Editors. Qualifying for a Patent FAQs. Learn whether your invention is eligible for patent protection.

Questions What types of inventions are not eligible for patent protection? Can computer software qualify for patent protection? What makes an invention "novel"? When is an invention considered "nonobvious"? What makes an invention "useful"? What types of inventions can be patented? Since assisting suicide is a crime in all of the United States, machines that are dedicated to enabling suicide would not be patentable.

Aside from these few categories, virtually anything that is new, useful, and nonobvious can be patented. To fully appreciate the bizarre range of inventions accepted by the Patent Office, visit the online patent database at www.

One of my favorite intellectual curiosities is studying perpetual motion machines. Since a perpetual motion machine has never been built, it is not that difficult a subject to study.

Although the exact definition of what constitutes a perpetual motion machine remains unsettled, at minimum it consists of a machine that, once set in motion, will continue in motion without ever stopping and without the influence of any further forces required to keep it going. An example would be a pendulum that, once started, never stops. The obvious problem with perpetual motion machines is that in our earthly world, negative outside forces such as friction and gravity always work to retard and prevent true perpetual motion.

Finnish patent legislation. Skip to content Go to the main menu. Finnish Patent and Registration Office. What kind of inventions can be patented? To be patentable, an invention must be new involve an inventive step be industrially applicable. Novelty An invention must be new in relation to what was public knowledge before the date of filing your patent application. Inventive step Your invention must involve an inventive step to be judged substantially different from all that was public knowledge before the filing date of the application.

Industrial applicability Patentable inventions must be technological in nature, and they must solve a technical problem.