What Can Be Patented And What Cannot Be Patented?

Some time back I was asked by one of the readers of my article, if I can tell him what can be patented and what cannot be; hence this article.

This question appears to the one with a straightforward answer. However, the answer to it is something that is highly debatable, and also varies depending on the country in which one wants to secure a patent.

A simple answer however is, anything that qualifies to be an invention can have a patent granted to it.

In the above answer, the word “invention” is the key word that requires definition.

In US, any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof may have a patent granted to it, provided it satisfies all other requirements of patentability.

In India, an invention means a new product or a new process that involves technological advancement and/or has economic significance, which makes that new product or process non-obvious to a person who is skilled in the technology to which the product or process belongs. Additionally, the new product or process should be capable of being made or used in an industry for it to qualify as an invention.

Most of the patent offices provide a simple definition of the word invention. However, they also provide a list of exclusions, which are not considered as inventions. This list is the one that often stirs up debates.

In India, section 3 provides a list of exclusion, and the list with examples is provided below:
1. an invention which is frivolous or which claims anything obviously contrary to well - established natural laws: (Ex:
Perpetual motion machine)



2. an invention the primary or intended use or commercial exploitation of which would be contrary to law or morality or which causes serious prejudice to human, animal or plan life or health or to the environment; (Ex: A method of hacking into email accounts)



3. the mere discovery of a scientific principle or the formulation of an abstract theory or discovery of any living thing or non-living substance occurring in nature; (Ex: E = mc2)



4. the mere discovery of any new form of a known substance which does not result in the enhancement of the known efficacy of that substance or mere discovery of any new property or new use for a known substance or of the mere use of a known process, machine or apparatus unless such process results in a new product or employs at least one new reactant. (This exclusion has been at the forefront of most debates in the pharmaceutical sector)



5. a substance obtained by a mere admixture resulting only in the aggregation of the properties of the components thereof or a process for producing such substance. (Ex: Mixture of sugar ......

For more informant, please check out http://bit.ly/fV7omg

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InvnTree Intellectual Property Services
93, 2nd floor, 21st Main, Banashankari 2nd stage,
Bangalore – 560070, Karnataka, India.
Phone :+91-80-42124165 (24 × 7)
E-mail :contact@invntree.com

This release was published on openPR.