They specifically concern tangible discoveries.
Schechter and Thomas ‘3 [Roger E. and John Thomas; 2003; professor of law at George Washington University; professor of law at Georgetown University; Intellectual Property: The Law of Copyrights, Patents and Trademarks, “Introduction to Intellectual Property,” West Group]
Patents provide exclusive rights to inventors of new, useful and nonobvious inventions.12 The patent law concerns hard technologies, including chemical, electrical and mechanical products and processes, as well as other pragmatic innovations in fields ranging from biotechnology to business methods.13 An inventor may obtain a patent by filing a patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”). Such an application must completely describe and precisely claim the invention.14 Issued patents confer the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering to sell or importing into the United States the patented invention.15 The term of a patent is 20 years from the date the application was filed.16