Intellectual property rights include copyrights, trademarks and patents. Each applies to a certain type of original work. There are classes of subject matter that fall under patent law:
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Process: A process, act or method, including industrial or technical schemes
- Machines
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Manufacture: Any manufactured articles
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Composition of matter: Chemical compositions and mixtures of ingredients and new chemical compounds
The statute awards patents to any person who “invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof.”
The keyword in the statute is “useful.” If a machine does not work properly, the patent office will not grant a patent on the machine. Patent law becomes complex and tough to navigate because of the vagueness of the statute. Who defines “useful?” What exactly constitutes an “improvement” on an existing “process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter?”
It’s important to note that patents are not awarded for ideas or suggestions. The patent goes to the actual machine, manufacture, process or composition of matter—not the idea of the subject. When
applying for a patent on the subject matter, a complete description is required.