Now, let’s take a look at what inventions can be patented under each of these three different kinds of patents. First off we have inventions of utility; inventions of utility have to fall into one of five different statutory classes in order to be considered patentable. These are the following:
1.Process – this includes conventional processes as well as software processes.
2.Machines – this includes both conventional machines and software machines. Machines are also often defined as having moving parts, such as a fridge or a DVD player.
3.Manufactures products – these are considered to be items that don’t have moving parts, like books or coffee tables.
4.Compositions of matter – examples of this include any pharmaceuticals, alloys, or chemicals.
5.New uses of any of the above
Besides fitting into one of the above categories, the product that you want to trademark must be useful. There are, however, different definitions of useful. For instance, somepeople might not consider board games to be useful, but they're meant to be used for entertainment, at which they succeed.
Whatever you want to patent must also be uniquely your intellectual property. That doesn’t mean that it can't be similar to something else, but it must have something unique about it. For instance, take toasters vs. toaster ovens. They are definitely similar in nature, yet they have unique aspects that make them different products.
Last but not least, your product must not be completely obvious to other independent inventors. This means that your product would not seem obvious to someone who has knowledge and experience in the area that your product fits into. For example, if all microwaves were black and you ‘invented’a red microwave and tried to patent it, it wouldn't work.