This episode delves into the prevailing legal test for patent eligibility in the United States under 35 U.S.C. § 101. We begin by outlining the four statutory categories of invention—processes, machines, manufactures, and compositions of matter—before focusing on the judicially created exceptions for laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas that define the modern challenges of eligibility.

The core of the discussion is a detailed examination of the Alice/Mayo two-step framework, the critical analytical test employed by the USPTO and federal courts. We analyze the nuanced search for an "inventive concept" or "markedly different characteristics" necessary to transform a claim directed to a judicial exception into a patent-eligible application.

Furthermore, the episode explores the significant policy considerations that underpin this area of jurisprudence, addressing the fundamental balance between incentivizing innovation and preventing the improper monopolization of fundamental knowledge. The discussion concludes with an overview of the special statutory limitations on remedies for patents on medical and surgical procedures, illustrating how Congress has intervened in this complex domain.