A person who makes a financial contribution is not a joint inventor and cannot be listed in the application as an inventor. Patent law specifies the subject matter that can be patented and the conditions under which a patent may be obtained. The law provides that any person who invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, composition of matter or any new and useful improvements get a patent. A process is defined as a method or set of steps. A machine is a device or equipment for performing physical functions.
Articles of manufacture are goods and products that are made and includes all manufactured articles.
Compositions of matter are chemical compositions and may include mixtures of ingredients, as well as new chemical compounds. These classes of subject matter include practically everything made by man, as well as the processes for making them. A patent cannot be obtained for an idea or suggestion You can't get a patent for mixtures of ingredients, such as medicines, unless there is more to the mixture than the known effect of its components. The mixture must have synergy or some unexpected advantage to be patentable. If your invention isn't patentable, you may want to consider protecting your invention as a trade secret.