Patent office does not grant patents for "mere ideas or suggestions." The rules also require that the patent be explicit enough such that anyone "ordinarily skilled in the art" can apply what they learn in the patent to make the invention and make it work successfully. One can patent an idea only if the idea is used to invent or discover any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement to an already patented invention. Practically anything made by humans, subject to the conditions and requirements of the law, is patentable. To patent an idea one must have an invention, not upon merely the idea or suggestion of a new invention.

A patent is a grant issued by the Patent and Trademark Office giving inventors the right to exclude others from making, using, or selling their invention in the United States. In exchange for this grant, the inventors must disclose their invention to the public in the form of a patent application. A patent does not grant inventors the right to make, use, sell, or import their inventions - only to exclude others from doing so.

To patent an idea there must first be an invention. And to enable to patent an idea through the invention, invention must be considered new. One can patent an idea through new invention unless any of the following applied before it was invented:

• it was known or used by others in the U.S.
• it was patented in the U.S. or foreign country
• it was described in a printed publication in the U.S. or foreign country
  One can patent an idea through new invention unless any of the following apply more than one year prior to the date of a patent application:
• it was patented in the U.S. or foreign country
• it was described in a printed publication in the U.S. or foreign country
• it was in public use or on sale in the U.S.

In order to patent an idea through the invention, the invention must also be considered useful, which means it must perform a function and do what it is intended to do. Furthermore, in order to patent an idea the invention must give new and non-obvious results compared to known approaches. For example, substituting one material for another in an invention or changing its size is ordinarily not grounds for patentability. Determining if you can patent an idea is a complex process. And it is best conducted under careful watch of a legal counsel.