Patentability Of Medical, Diagnostic, And Therapeutic Methods

It's sometimes better to think about the things that cannot be patented to get a sense of the contours of patentability. Article 27.1 of the TRIPS Agreement states that patents must be available for the subject matter patentable "for any inventions, whether processes or products, in all technical fields".Since products or processes used in the course of medical care do not ipso facto represent "methods of treatment," the Agreement makes it clear that they are patentable in their own right."

However, not everything made by man is patentable, according to each country's patent laws; in most nations, certain subject matters are not patentable. Some countries, especially in the field of life sciences or medical treatment provide for exceptions in their domestic laws based on the provisions of TRIPS articles 27.2 and 27.3.