Is biomedical science the same as biomedical engineering for the patent bar?

No, they are separate Category A subjects. Both qualify, but OED reviews your transcript against the subject your degree actually names.

Does a health sciences degree qualify under the new rule?

No. Only Biomedical Science was added. Health sciences is not a listed subject, so it goes through Category B review.

Which USPTO Technology Center examines biomedical science patents?

Mostly Technology Center 1600 (Biotechnology and Organic Chemistry). Device-based diagnostics and medical processes go to Technology Center 3700.

Patent bar eligibility by degree

Biomedical Science and the Patent Bar

Biomedical Science is the newest Category A subject. On August 11, 2026 the USPTO moved it from the Category B review pathway into Category A after its periodic review of degrees commonly accepted under Category B. A bachelor's, master's or Ph.D. in biomedical science now qualifies on the transcript alone.

Check your eligibility Full eligibility guide

At a glance

USPTO category: Category A
Listed subject: Biomedical Science
Degree levels: Bachelor's, master's or Ph.D.
Main Technology Centers: TC 1600, TC 3700

Checked against the August 2026 bulletin

Eligibility

Does a Biomedical Science degree qualify?

Yes. The USPTO General Requirements Bulletin (August 2026 edition) lists Biomedical Science in Category A, the degree-based route to the registration exam. An applicant with a bachelor's, master's or Doctor of Philosophy degree in a listed subject from an accredited U.S. college or university, or the foreign equivalent, meets the scientific and technical requirement without a course-by-course review.

Before August 2026, biomedical science graduates had to show qualifying coursework under Category B. The August 2026 General Requirements Bulletin removes that step.

Your OED application

Exactly what to submit

An official transcript from the college or university that shows the degree was awarded. A transcript issued to you is accepted if it carries the school's stamp or seal.
Not a diploma or a letter. A diploma, a copy of a transcript or a registrar's letter naming your degree does not meet the requirement.
Course descriptions if the title isn't an exact match. If your degree title differs from the listed subject, OED checks equivalence; the OED FAQ suggests sending course descriptions with the first application to avoid delay.
Foreign degrees: objective evidence of U.S. equivalence, such as an evaluation from a foreign-credential evaluation service, alongside the transcript.

The rest of the application (forms, fees and the moral-character questions) is covered step by step in the OED application guide.

Practice

Patent work for biomedical science graduates

Registered practitioners usually draft and prosecute applications in the technology they trained in. In this field that means work such as:

Technology area	Example inventions
Clinical diagnostics	Biomarker panels, companion diagnostics.
Biologic therapeutics	Therapeutic antibodies, fusion proteins.
Disease models and research tools	Engineered cell models, animal models.
Regenerative medicine	Stem-cell-derived therapies, tissue grafts.
Vaccines	Antigen designs, adjuvant compositions.

USPTO

Which Technology Centers examine this work

The USPTO routes each application to one of its Technology Centers by its classification. For biomedical science subject matter, these are the ones you will deal with most:

Technology Center	Why it applies
TC 1600 Biotechnology and Organic Chemistry	Biotechnology, including diagnostics and biologics.
TC 3700 Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing and Products	Device-based diagnostics and medical processes.

Routing follows each application's classification, so a single application can land outside these centers.

Patent law

Diagnostic method eligibility

Biomedical work often turns into diagnostic claims, and those meet the law-of-nature exception head on. Mayo v. Prometheus (2012) and the guidance in MPEP 2106.04(b) decide when a claim that measures a natural correlation is eligible.

The registration exam itself tests patent law and USPTO procedure from the MPEP, not your technical field. See the patent bar exam overview for format and scoring.

Other routes

If your degree title differs

Category A is matched on the subject your transcript names. Titles close to biomedical science are handled like this:

Biomedical Sciences (plural) or Biomedical Science with a concentration: OED confirms the match from the transcript; include course descriptions.
Health Sciences or Public Health: Not on the Category A list. Category B review would apply.
Biomedical Engineering: A separate Category A subject. See the Biomedical Engineering page.

If you don't qualify under Category A, Category B counts science and engineering coursework (courses for science or engineering majors, grade C- or better):

Option 1: 24 semester hours in physics (physics courses for physics majors).
Option 2: 32 semester hours: 8 in chemistry or physics plus 24 in biology, botany, microbiology or molecular biology.
Option 3: 30 semester hours in chemistry (chemistry courses for chemistry majors).
Option 4: 40 semester hours: 8 in chemistry or physics plus 32 in other listed science and engineering subjects.

Category C is for applicants with a bachelor's degree who pass the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam. Run your transcript through Do I Qualify? for a quick check, then read the full eligibility guide.

FAQ