Legal Definitions - manufacture

Manufacture is a noun used in patents to describe something that is made or built by a human being, rather than something that occurs naturally. It refers to any material form that is produced by a machine from an unshaped composition of matter. Examples of manufactures include chairs and tires.

Manufactures are one of the categories of inventions that can be patented. To be patentable, a manufacture must have a definable structure that is claimed as its patentable characteristic. It must be a "thing" rather than a way or means. In summary, a patentable manufacture is any human-made structure that has inventive characteristics.

• A chair is a manufacture because it is made by humans and has a definable structure that is claimed as its patentable characteristic.
• A tire is a manufacture because it is made by humans and has a definable structure that is claimed as its patentable characteristic.
• A rock is not a manufacture because it occurs naturally and is not made by humans.
• A river is not a manufacture because it occurs naturally and is not made by humans.

The examples illustrate the definition of manufacture by showing what is and is not considered a manufacture. Chairs and tires are examples of manufactures because they are made by humans and have a definable structure that is claimed as their patentable characteristic. Rocks and rivers are not examples of manufactures because they occur naturally and are not made by humans.