Skip to content
Technology & Innovation

How to Patent Innovation

“The Supreme Court on Monday loosened the limits on the kinds of inventions that are eligible for patent protection,” reports The Washington Post. Intangible goods are increasingly eligible.
Sign up for the Smarter Faster newsletter
A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

“The Supreme Court on Monday loosened the limits on the kinds of inventions that are eligible for patent protection,” reports The Washington Post. Intangible goods are increasingly eligible. Rejecting a lower court decision, the High Court said that “Limiting patents to machines or transformations would create uncertainty over the patentability of software, advanced diagnostic medical techniques and the manipulation of digital signals.” To some, the decision was not as groundbreaking as expected because, “the justices stopped short of laying out categorical rules for what kinds of inventions should be patented.”

Sign up for the Smarter Faster newsletter
A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Related
Writing for a unanimous Supreme Court majority, Justice Clarence Thomas argued that Myriad Genetics Inc. did not invent anything when it isolated two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2. 

Up Next
Though the Islamic world has “fallen behind” recent scientific times, the oil-rich states of the Middle East are seeking to diversify their economies. The New Scientist says science and technology appear promising.