Title 35 of the United States Code

Title 35 of the United States Code is a title of United States Code regarding patent law. The sections of Title 35 govern all aspects of patent law in the United States. There are currently 37 chapters, which include 376 sections (149 of which are used), in Title 35.

Federally recognized forms of intellectual property are scattered throughout the United States Code. Copyrights are covered under Title 17. Trademark and unfair competition law is defined in Chapter 22 of Title 15 (15 U.S.C. § 1051-15 U.S.C. § 1141n [The Lanham Act]). Trade Secrets law, another form of intellectual property, is defined in 18 U.S.C. § 1839.

Title 35 has four parts:

Sections 1 through 42 establish the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The USPTO is responsible for granting and issuing patents and registering trademarks.

An invention must meet several requirements to be eligible for a patent. The invention must concern patentable subject matter (section 101). The invention must be novel and the application for a patent on the invention must be timely (section 102). The invention must be non-obvious (section 103). Finally, the invention must be sufficiently documented (section 112).

35 U.S.C. § 101 35 U.S.C. 101 Inventions patentable.

This may seem expansive, but certain subject matter are not eligible, what are called 101 judicial exceptions. The Supreme Court of the United States recently interpreted 35 USC 101 in a decision Bilski v. Kappos. The below is a quotation from the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) (Taken from 8th Ed. Revision 6, Sept 2007):

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