Tag Archives: subject matter

There are some great inventions that cannot be protected by patent.  Laws of nature, such as electromagnetism , cannot be patented.  Abstract ideas, such as mathematical formulae , cannot be patented.  Natural phenomena, such as a naturally occurring bacteria, cannot be patented.  These judge-made exceptions to ‘patentable subject matter’ do not appear in the statute.*   In recent years, the Supreme Court has issued decisions that […]