Patents on Legal Methods? No Way!
4 Pages
Posted: 19 Jun 2013
University of Colorado Law School
Date Written: February 14, 2007
Abstract
An “invention,” as used in the United States patent laws, refers to anything made by man that employs or harnesses a law of nature or a naturally occurring substance for human benefit. A watermill, for instance, harnesses the power of gravity to run machinery. But legal methods, such as tax strategies, are not inventions in this sense, because they employ “laws of man” — not laws of nature to produce a useful result.
Keywords: Patent, Law, Legal, Patentability, Tax, Poison Pill
JEL Classification: K00, K11, K2, K20, K99, K34, K29, O3, O31, O34
Suggested Citation:
Suggested Citation
Schwartz, Andrew A., Patents on Legal Methods? No Way! (February 14, 2007). Columbia Law Review Sidebar, Vol. 107, Pages 1-3, 2007; U of Colorado Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 13-9. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2280536
