Legal Definitions - statutory subject matter

Statutory subject matter refers to the criteria that an invention must meet in order to be considered patentable. There are two criteria that must be satisfied: statutory and judicial.

According to 35 U.S.C. Section 101, an invention must fall into at least one of five categories to qualify as statutory subject matter:

• Compositions of matter (such as drugs or glue)
• Articles of manufacture (simple devices like screwdrivers or rakes)
• Machines (devices with moving parts, like car engines)
• Processes (methods of doing something, like an implant procedure)
• New and useful improvements of any of the above categories

Judicial subject matter refers to exceptions recognized by the courts. If an invention falls within one of these exceptions, it cannot be considered patentable.

For example, a new type of glue would be considered statutory subject matter because it falls under the category of compositions of matter. A new type of music player, on the other hand, would be considered statutory subject matter because it falls under the category of machines. However, if someone tried to patent a natural phenomenon like gravity, it would not be considered statutory subject matter because it does not fall into any of the five categories.