A person can technically patent something that is fictitious if it meets the criteria of being new, useful, and non-obvious, typically applying to inventions or concepts rather than physical entities.

However, the mere existence of a patent does not confirm that the patented item exists in reality. Patents protect the intellectual property and the inventive process rather than the physical existence of an object.

And the following cannot be patented:

• Laws of nature

• Abstract ideas

• Methods of medical treatment

• Products of nature

• Natural phenomena

• Abstract concepts

• Mental processes

• Mathematical formulas

• Abstract ideas that are not tied to a specific machine or process.