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Simple English definitions for legal terms

statutory subject matter

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A quick definition of statutory subject matter:

Statutory subject matter: In order for an invention to be eligible for a patent, it must meet certain requirements. One of these requirements is that it must fall into one of five categories: compositions of matter (like drugs or glue), articles of manufacture (like screwdrivers or rakes), machines (like car engines), processes (like medical procedures), or new and useful improvements to any of these categories. This is known as statutory subject matter. The invention must also not fall into any exceptions recognized by the courts, which is known as judicial subject matter.

A more thorough explanation:

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.

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Inside thoughts!
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this is where I post my inside thoughts
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Nah, the fucked up thing about therapists is they try and make you think your parents are your enemy 99% of the time and really they should be telling you that your parents have almost no effect on the rest of your life. If they can get you to keep focusing on your parents they can keep making money.
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please lawd
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forgive me
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its time to go back to tha old me
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this is what i feel like when i get one single drill question right
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when u get one wrong ;(
therapist slander detected
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Is anyone in here cool like fr cool
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Like watch college football cool
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Or like
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20:38
Frat
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20:39
Sorry guys I'm bored trying to get my Berkeley essay to 4 pages
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no way they want four pages that’s crazy
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bitches wanna be different sooo bad 😴
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20:42
Technically they want 3 to be completely fair to the powers that be, so I'm really trying to push out to 3
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20:42
But it's 1/2 inch margins
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assuming it was 2 already, you’ve totally got 3 double spaced pages in you
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should I watch the quirky umich dean videos? i feel like all of you have seen them except me but I can’t work up any enthusiasm for the idea
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I like Dean Z not sure why she gets slandered sometimes
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I would say yeah, they're helpful. But they can verge on unproductive and stress-inducing if you watch enough of them (especially the application read-through ones)
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