The US patent office continues its struggle to come to terms with nanotechnology by introducing a new registration category, 977 (not to be confused with a 997 which is a far more interesting subject, at least for some of our local nanotech entrepreneurs).
The new class requires that at least one dimension of an invention be less than 100 nanometers, and the nanoscale element of the product or process must be essential to whatever properties make it novel.
It is not perfect, and we question whether a new category is actually needed, for example would Psividias porous silicon for drug delivery be nanotech or medical devices? It is, however, a small step forward from the current strategy, best described as grant everything and let their lawyers fight it out.