this post was submitted on 22 Dec 2024
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Ehh no, you genuinely can't patent any form of mathematics.
Mathematics falls under "exists in nature" (if you are a Platonist) or "abstract ideas" (gets even clear thinking Constructivists). So they're excluded from parents and copyrights no matter how complex the system
Textbooks usually belong to the publisher (academics commonly have to pirate their own papers), so that's usually a bust.
You might be able to patent an algorithm associated with a branch of mathematics, but that's trickier than you think. Blank slate development can, and does, happen (see Compaq's reimplementation of IBM's bios). You're banking on it not being reversed engineer able (spoiler, don't take that bet if you've published your proofs!).