Suppose you have a great idea on how to solve world hunger. Can you patent an idea like this?

It depends, but probably not. You don’t need to have a physical invention to patent something – a patent is often an idea before it is an actual product, and a process can also be patented. But a patent must refer to something practical, functional, and above all, specific. Patents could include ideas for inventions that might cure world hunger – like a new disease-resistant grain or a more efficient threshing machine – or a specific process that does so – like a new business process for small farms that enables them to produce more food – but not general, non-specific solutions, like giving more foreign aid to poor countries.

Pure concepts are also not patentable – E=MC², for example. The idea must ultimately be tangible and used for a practical purpose. One of major requirements for a patent, in fact, is that the patent has a useful function and actually performs that function.

Therefore, a patent on an idea is not possible unless the idea is something specific and practicable, like a patent on a business process. Even if you have an ‘idea for an invention’, that idea has to be specific. You can’t just come up with an idea for a patent without actually knowing how that patent will function. A detailed mechanical and technical understanding of your patent idea is necessary to have a successful patent application.