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Patentable subject matter

Revision as of 09:20, 13 January 2010 by Steelpillow (talk | contribs) (See also)

Patentable subject matter is the patentability criterion which limits of what types of innovation can be patented.

In the USA, when the context makes it obvious that patents are the topic, this is sometimes called statuary subject matter.

For example, in most countries, mathematical formulas are considered not to be patentable subject matter. Therefor, even if a mathematical formula fulfills the other criteria (it's new, it's original, it's useful), it cannot be patented.

The goal of anti-software-patent campaigns is to get software ideas excluded from patentable subject matter.

See also

External links

Per-country explanations