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Josiah Hernandez What can be Patented Slide 2 What can be patented A patent is granted to anyone who 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, subject to the conditions and requirements of the law. As the Supreme Court has recognized, Congress chose the expansive language of 35 U.S.C. 101 so as to include "anything under the sun that is made by man" as statutory subject matter. Diamond v. Chakrabarty, 447 U.S. 303, 308-09, 206 USPQ 193, 197 (1980). Categories of Invention Four statutory categories of invention for a utility patent: Process Machine Article of Manufacture Composition of matter Any improvement thereof Slide 3 What cannot be patented Exceptions to the statutory categories Abstract ideas (e.g. mathematical algorithms) Natural phenomena (e.g. gravity) Laws of nature (e.g. E = mc 2 ) Literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works (these can be Copyright protected). While abstract ideas, natural phenomena, and laws of nature are not eligible for patenting, methods and products employing abstract ideas, natural phenomena, and laws of nature to perform a real-world function may well be.