Patentable inventions

Patentable inventions refer to any technical solution of a problem in any field of human activity, which is new, involves an inventive step and is industrially applicable. It may be, or refer to, any product, process, or an improvement of any of the foregoing. (Section 21, Republic Act No. 8293] It is vested from the issuance of letters of patent.

The following shall be excluded from patent protection (Section 22):

[1] Discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods, and in the case of drugs and medicines, the mere discovery of a new form or new property of a known substance which does not result in the enhancement of the known efficacy of that substance, or the mere discovery of any new property or new use for a known substance, or the mere use of a known process unless such known process results in a new product that employs at least one new reactant.

For the purpose of this clause, salts, esters, ethers, polymorphs, metabolites, pure form, particle size, isomers, mixtures of isomers, complexes, combinations, and other derivatives of a known substance shall be considered to be the same substance, unless they differ significantly in properties with regard to efficacy;

[2] Schemes, rules and methods of performing mental acts, playing games or doing business, and programs for computers;[3] Methods for treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy and diagnostic methods practiced on the human or animal body. This provision shall not apply to products and composition for use in any of these methods;

[4] Plant varieties or animal breeds or essentially biological process for the production of plants or animals. This provision shall not apply to micro-organisms and non-biological and microbiological processes.

Provisions under this subsection shall not preclude Congress to consider the enactment of a law providing sui generis protection of plant varieties and animal breeds and a system of community intellectual rights protection;

[5] Aesthetic creations; and

[6] Anything which is contrary to public order or morality.