What kind of invention can be patented?

Inventions and creations protected by China's patent law include inventions, utility models and designs. Invention refers to a new technical scheme proposed for a product, method or improvement; Utility model refers to a new practical technical scheme for the shape, structure or combination of products; Appearance design refers to a new design that is aesthetically pleasing and suitable for industrial application based on the shape, pattern, color or their combination of products and the combination of color and shape and pattern. It can be seen that the invention protected by the patent law has its specific meaning. Inventions and utility model patents only protect inventions in the technical field, that is, only protect technical solutions. Patents cannot be granted for pure scientific theories, teaching methods, calculation methods, artificial rules (such as taxation methods), game methods, advertising methods based on psychology, and methods to improve the enthusiasm of workers. According to the patent law, invention patents can be divided into two categories: product invention patents and method invention patents. Product invention refers to all inventions in the form of matter, such as the invention of machines, instruments, tools and their parts, the invention of new materials and new substances. Method invention refers to all inventions in the form of procedures and processes, such as the manufacturing and processing technology of products, the inspection and test methods of materials, and the use methods of products. The utility model patent does not protect the method invention, but only a part of the product invention, that is, the product with a certain shape or structure. Design protects the appearance characteristics of products, which must be embodied by specific products, and such products can be produced and copied by industrial methods. This appearance can be characterized by the three-dimensional modeling of the product, the surface pattern of the product or the combination of the two, but it cannot be divorced from the pattern or graphic design of the specific product. China's patent law also clearly stipulates that the following items shall not be granted patents for inventions and utility models. Any of the following applications will be rejected by China National Intellectual Property Administration Patent Office (hereinafter referred to as Patent Office). (1) scientific discoveries, such as new discoveries and new understandings of natural phenomena, social phenomena and their laws, as well as pure scientific theories and mathematical methods; (2) rules and methods of intellectual activities, such as methods of educating and training people and animals, plans and rules for organizing production and games; (3) Diagnosis and treatment of diseases; (4) Species of animals and plants; (5) substances obtained by nuclear transformation. Among them, (1) and (2) can't get patent protection because they don't belong to the category of technological inventions. Item (3) is related to people's life and health, so it is not appropriate to grant a patent right. However, various methods for detecting and testing human excreta, hair and body fluid samples and tissue sections are not diagnostic methods of diseases. Item (4) Because it is very difficult to confirm the genetic characters of animal and plant varieties, it is difficult to protect them through patents. Special laws and regulations are usually formulated internationally, such as the Seed Law. Item (5) cannot be patented because it is closely related to the manufacture and production of weapons of mass destruction. Although the method in the above item (3) cannot be protected, the invention of various instruments and equipment for diagnosing and treating diseases can be protected. Although the products in items (4) and (5) cannot be protected, their production methods and instruments, equipment and tools used in production research can be protected. For utility model patents, only products are protected, and all related methods (including the use of products) and natural objects that have not been artificially manufactured are not granted utility model patents. The above methods include manufacturing methods, use methods, communication methods, processing methods, computer programs and specific uses of products. In addition, the shape of products without definite shape, such as gas, liquid, powder, granular substances or materials, cannot be used as the shape characteristics of utility model products; Raw material products that only change their composition, such as various profiles, cannot be regarded as specific shape characteristics of products. The molecular structure and composition of matter do not belong to the protection object endowed by utility model patent. The product's shape, pattern, color, characters, symbols, charts or their combinations have not solved technical problems, and are not the object of patent protection for utility models. For design patents, although the patent law does not explicitly list the items that cannot be patented, for products that cannot be produced and reproduced by industrial methods, such as pure works of art, products that directly use the shape of natural objects, fixed buildings combined with specific terrain, etc., design patents cannot be granted; In addition, modern portraits, national flags, national emblems, registered trademarks, service marks, numbers, dates, words and symbols related to major political and social activities of the country, etc. Can not be granted the patent right of design, because they involve other rights; Words, letters and numbers are not patterns themselves, and the microscopic patterns and shapes of products are invisible to the naked eye, so they cannot be protected by design patents. In addition, inventions that violate national laws, social morality or hinder public interests, such as drug-taking appliances, methods and tools that destroy security doors, designs that harm good customs and national feelings, and so-called inventions that violate scientific principles, such as perpetual motion machines, cannot be protected by patents.