Legal Definitions - article of manufacture

An article of manufacture is a term used in patent law to refer to any human-made structure that has inventive characteristics. It is something that is made or built by a human being, as distinguished from something that is a product of nature. This can include any material form produced by a machine from an unshaped composition of matter.

Manufactures are one of the statutory categories of inventions that can be patented. Examples of manufactures include chairs, tires, and smartphones. These examples illustrate the definition because they are all human-made structures that have inventive characteristics. They are not products of nature, but rather products of human ingenuity and creativity.

In order for something to be considered a patentable manufacture, it must have a definable structure that is claimed as its patentable characteristic. This means that it must be a "thing," as opposed to a way or means of doing something. Essentially, a patentable manufacture is any human-made structure that has inventive characteristics.