Which products and processes can be protected by patents?

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Patents are government grants that provide inventors the exclusive right to exclude others from making, using, or selling their inventions for a limited period.1

Under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), patent protection generally extends to any product or process across all fields of technology, provided the invention is new, involves an inventive step, and is capable of industrial application. Specifically, patents are granted for:1

Machines and manufactured products1
Industrial processes and the methods used to produce goods1
Chemical compounds, foods, and medicinal products1
Significant improvements to existing products or processes1
Plant or animal life developed through genetic engineering (in some jurisdictions)1

To be patentable, an invention must typically be novel and represent a significant advance rather than an obvious change from existing knowledge. While TRIPS mandates broad coverage, countries may exclude diagnostic, therapeutic, and surgical methods, as well as inventions that would violate ordre public or morality.1