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Invention
"Inventor" and "Invented" redirect here. For other uses, see Invention (disambiguation).

For the CAD design software, see Autodesk Inventor.

'BUILD YOUR OWN TELEVISION

RECEIVER.' Science and Invention
magazine cover, November 1928

An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition or process. The invention

process is a process within an overall engineering and product development process. It may
be an improvement upon a machine or product, or a new process for creating an object or a
result. An invention that achieves a completely unique function or result may be a radical
breakthrough. Such works are novel and not obvious to others skilled in the same field. An
inventor may be taking a big step in success or failure.

Some inventions can be patented. A patent legally protects the intellectual property rights of
the inventor and legally recognizes that a claimed invention is actually an invention. The rules
and requirements for patenting an invention vary from country to country, and the process of
obtaining a patent is often expensive.

Another meaning of invention is cultural invention, which is an innovative set of useful social
behaviours adopted by people and passed on to others.[1] The Institute for Social Inventions
collected many such ideas in magazines and books.[2] Invention is also an important
component of artistic and design creativity. Inventions often extend the boundaries of human
knowledge, experience or capability.

The Process of Invention

Practical means of invention

Alessandro Volta with the first

electrical battery. Volta is
recognized as one of the most
influential inventors of all time.

The idea for an invention may be developed on paper or on a computer, by writing or drawing,
by trial and error, by making models, by experimenting, by testing and/or by making the
invention in its whole form. Brainstorming also can spark new ideas for an invention.
Collaborative creative processes are frequently used by engineers, designers, architects and
scientists. Co-inventors are frequently named on patents.

In addition, many inventors keep records of their working process - notebooks, photos, etc.,
including Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, Evangelista Torricelli, Thomas Jefferson and
Albert Einstein.[3][4][5][6]

In the process of developing an invention, the initial idea may change. The invention may
become simpler, more practical, it may expand, or it may even morph into something totally
different. Working on one invention can lead to others too.[7]
History shows that turning the concept of an invention into a working device is not always
swift or direct. Inventions may also become more useful after time passes and other
changes occur. For example, the parachute became more useful once powered flight was a
reality.[8]

Conceptual means

Thomas Edison with

phonograph. Edison is
considered one of the most
prolific inventors in history,
holding 1,093 U.S. patents in his
name.

Invention is often a creative process. An open and curious mind allows an inventor to see
beyond what is known. Seeing a new possibility, connection, or relationship can spark an
invention. Inventive thinking frequently involves combining concepts or elements from
different realms that would not normally be put together. Sometimes inventors disregard the
boundaries between distinctly separate territories or fields.[citation needed] Several concepts
may be considered when thinking about invention.

Play

Play may lead to invention. Childhood curiosity, experimentation, and imagination can
develop one's play instinct—an inner need according to Carl Jung.[citation needed] Inventors feel
the need to play with things that interest them, and to explore, and this internal drive brings
about novel creations.[9][10]
Sometimes inventions and ideas may seem to arise spontaneously while daydreaming,
especially when the mind is free from its usual concerns.[11] For example, both J. K. Rowling
(the creator of Harry Potter)[12] and Frank Hornby (the inventor of Meccano)[13] first had their
ideas while on train journeys.

Re-envision

To invent is to see anew. Inventors often envision a new idea, seeing it in their mind's eye.
New ideas can arise when the conscious mind turns away from the subject or problem, when
the inventor's focus is on something else, or while relaxing or sleeping. A novel idea may
come in a flash—a Eureka! moment. For example, after years of working to figure out the
general theory of relativity, the solution came to Einstein suddenly in a dream "like a giant die
making an indelible impress, a huge map of the universe outlined itself in one clear vision".[14]
Inventions can also be accidental, such as in the case of polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon).

Insight

Insight can also be a vital element of invention. Such inventive insight may begin with
questions, doubt or a hunch. It may begin by recognizing that something unusual or
accidental may be useful or that it could open a new avenue for exploration. For example, the
odd metallic color of plastic made by accidentally adding a thousand times too much
catalyst led scientists to explore its metal-like properties, inventing electrically conductive
plastic and light emitting plastic-—an invention that won the Nobel Prize in 2000 and has led
to innovative lighting, display screens, wallpaper and much more (see conductive polymer,
and organic light-emitting diode or OLED).[15]

Exploration

A rare 1884 photo showing the experimental

 recording of voice patterns by a photographic
process at the Alexander Graham Bell Laboratory in
Washington, D.C. Many of their experimental
designs panned out in failure.

Invention is often an exploratory process with an uncertain or unknown outcome. There are
failures as well as successes. Inspiration can start the process, but no matter how complete
the initial idea, inventions typically must be developed.

Improvement

Inventors may, for example, try to improve something by making it more effective, healthier,
faster, more efficient, easier to use, serve more purposes, longer lasting, cheaper, more
ecologically friendly, or aesthetically different, lighter weight, more ergonomic, structurally
different, with new light or color properties, etc.

Implementing Inventions

Western Arabic numerals - an example of non-material inventions.

Railways — probably the most

important invention in land transport.
(Railway station in Bratislava,
Slovakia)

In economic theory, inventions are one of the chief examples of "positive externalities", a
beneficial side-effect that falls on those outside a transaction or activity. One of the central
concepts of economics is that externalities should be internalized—unless some of the
benefits of this positive externality can be captured by the parties, the parties are under-
rewarded for their inventions, and systematic under-rewarding leads to under-investment in
activities that lead to inventions. The patent system captures those positive externalities for
the inventor or other patent owner, so that the economy as a whole invests an optimum
amount of resources in the invention process.

Invention vs. innovation

Main article: Innovation

In the social sciences, an innovation is something that is new, better, and has been adopted.
The theory for adoption of an innovation, called diffusion of innovations, considers the
likelihood that an innovation is adopted and the taxonomy of persons likely to adopt it or spur
its adoption. This theory was first put forth by Everett Rogers.[16][17] Gabriel Tarde also dealt
with the adoption of innovations in his Laws of Imitation.[18]

Purposes of invention

An invention can serve many purposes. These purposes might differ significantly and may
change over time. An invention, or a further-developed version of it, may serve purposes
never envisioned by its original inventor(s) or by others living at the time of its original
invention. As an example, consider all the kinds of plastic developed, their many uses, and
the significant growth this material invention is still
undergoing.[9][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]

Invention as defined by patent law

See also: Patentability

U.S. patent
The term invention is also an important legal concept and central to patent law systems
worldwide. As is often the case for legal concepts, its legal meaning is slightly different from
common usage of the word. Additionally, the legal concept of invention is quite different in
American and European patent law.

In Europe, the first test a patent application must pass is, "Is this an invention?" If it is,
subsequent questions are whether it is new, and sufficiently inventive. The implication—
counter intuitively—is that a legal invention is not inherently novel. Whether a patent
application relates to an invention is governed by Article 52 of the European Patent
Convention, that excludes, e.g., discoveries as such and software as such. The EPO Boards of
Appeal decided that the technical character of an application is decisive for it to represent an
invention, following an age-old Italians and German tradition. British courts don't agree with
this interpretation. Following a 1959 Australian decision ("NRDC"), they believe that it is not
possible to grasp the invention concept in a single rule. A British court once stated that the
technical character test implies a "...restatement of the problem in more imprecise
terminology."

In the United States, all patent applications are considered inventions. The statute explicitly
says that the American invention concept includes discoveries (35 USC § 100(a)), contrary to
the European invention concept. The European invention concept corresponds to the
American "patentable subject matter" concept: the first test a patent application is submitted
to. While the statute (35 USC § 101) virtually poses no limits to patenting whatsoever, courts
have decided in binding precedents that abstract ideas, natural phenomena and laws of
nature are not patentable. Various attempts were made to substantiate the "abstract idea"
test, which suffers from abstractness itself, but eventually none of them was successful. The
last attempt so far was the "machine or transformation" test, but the U.S. Supreme Court
decided in 2010 that it is merely an indication at best.

Invention in the arts

Invention has a long and important history in the arts. Inventive thinking has always played a
vital role in the creative process.[30] While some inventions in the arts are patentable, others
are not because they cannot fulfill the strict requirements governments have established for
granting them. (see patent).

Some inventions in art include the:

 Collage and construction invented by Picasso

Readymade invented by Marcel Duchamp

mobile invented by Alexander Calder

Combine invented by Robert Rauschenberg

Shaped painting invented by Frank Stella

Motion picture, the invention of which is attributed to Eadweard Muybridge[31][32]

Likewise, Jackson Pollock invented an entirely new form of painting and a new kind of
abstraction by dripping, pouring, splashing and splattering paint onto un-stretched canvas
lying on the floor.

Inventive tools of the artist's trade also produced advances in creativity. Impressionist
painting became possible because of newly invented collapsible, resealable metal paint
tubes that facilitated spontaneous painting outdoors.[citation needed] Inventions originally
created in the form of artwork can also develop other uses, i.e., Alexander Calder's mobile,
which is now commonly used over babies' cribs. Funds generated from patents on inventions
in art, design and architecture can support the realization of the invention or other creative
work. Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi's 1879 design patent on the Statue of Liberty helped fund
the famous statue because it covered small replicas, including those sold as souvenirs.[33]

List of artistic inventors

Other artists, designers and architects who are or were inventors include:[original research?]

Filippo Brunelleschi

Le Corbusier

Naum Gabo

Frederick Hart

Charles Eames

William Morris

Louis Comfort Tiffany

John La Farge
 Buckminster Fuller

Walt Disney

Man Ray

Yves Klein

Henry N. Cobb

I. M. Pei

Kenneth Snelson

John Lennon

Chuck (Charles) Hoberman

Ingo Maurer

Thomas Edison

Benjamin Franklin

George Washington Carver

Some of their inventions have been patented. Others might have fulfilled the requirements of
a patent, like the Cubist image.

See also
Bayh-Dole Act

Chindōgu

Creativity techniques

Directive on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions

Discovery (observation)

Edisonian approach

Heroic theory of invention and scientific development

Independent inventor

Ingenuity
 INPEX (invention show)

International Innovation Index

Invention promotion firm

Inventors' Day

Kranzberg's laws of technology

Lemelson-MIT Prize

List of inventions named after people

List of inventors

List of prolific inventors

Multiple discovery

National Inventors Hall of Fame

Patent model

Proof of concept

Proposed directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions - it was

rejected

Scientific priority

Technological revolution

The Illustrated Science and Invention Encyclopedia

Timeline of historic inventions

Science and invention in Birmingham - The first cotton spinning mill to plastics and steam
power.

References
1. ^ Artificial Mythologies: A Guide to Cultural Invention by Craig J. Saper (1997); Review of
Artificial Mythologies. A Guide to cultural Invention, Kirsten Ostherr (1998)

2. ^ Nicholas Albery, Matthew Mezey, Mary McHugh and Marie Papworth (editors). "Best
Ideas: A Compendium of Social Inventions". The Institute for Social Inventions, London, 1995.
3. ^ The Inventor's Notebook by Fred Grissom and David Pressman (2005)

4. ^ Leonardo da Vinci: Artist, Scientist, Inventor by Simona Cremante (2005)

5. ^ "Jefferson's Papers at the Library of Congress" . Memory.loc.gov. Retrieved 2013-07-17.

[dead link]
6. ^ about Albert Einstein

7. ^ "Continuation Patents at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Offices" . Uspto.gov. Retrieved
2013-07-17.

8. ^ White, Lynn: The Invention of the Parachute, Technology and Culture, Vol. 9, Nremante
(2005)

9. ^ a b "Lemelson Center​
s Invention at Play: Inventors​
Stories" . Inventionatplay.org.
Retrieved 2013-10-03. C1 control character in |title=at position 16 (help)

10. ^ Juice: The Creative Fuel That Drives World-Class Inventors (2004), p.14-15 by Evan I.
Schwartz.

11. ^ Claxton, Guy. "Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind: Why intelligence increases when you think
less". Fourth Estate, London, 1997.

12. ^ Smith, Sean. "J. K. Rowling: A Biography." Michael O'Mara Books Limited, 2001.

13. ^ Jack, Ian. "Before the Oil Ran Out: Britain 1977-87". Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd, 1987.

14. ^ Einstein: A Life by Denis Brian p.159 (1996)

15. ^ Nobelprize.org, The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2000 Archived March 18, 2015 at the
Wayback Machine

16. ^ Diffusion of Innovations, 5th Edition by Everett Rogers (2003)

17. ^ "ciadvertising.org" . ciadvertising.org. Retrieved 2013-10-03.

18. ^ Les lois de l'imitation Gabriel Tarde (1890)

19. ^ "Explore invention at the Lemelson Center :: Smithsonian Lemelson Center" .

Invention.smithsonian.org. Retrieved 2013-10-03.

20. ^ Talk of the Nation (2004-12-24). "Exploring the Process of Inventing" . NPR. Retrieved
2013-10-03.

21. ^ [1] Archived January 5, 2009 at the Wayback Machine

22. ^ "United States Patent and Trademark Office" . Uspto.gov. 1994-12-01. Retrieved
2013-10-03.

23. ^ "Glossary" . Uspto.gov. 2004-08-22. Retrieved 2013-10-03.

24. ^ http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1985/2/1985_2_18.shtml

25. ^ "at Directnic" . Packagingtoday.com. Retrieved 2013-10-03.

26. ^ "Plastic Materials (Aar - ACN)" . Ides.com. Retrieved 2013-10-03.

27. ^ "Plastipedia: The Plastics Encyclopedia - Plastics Processes" . Bpf.co.uk. Retrieved

2013-10-03.

28. ^ "The Plastics Historical Society - Home" . Plastiquarian.comConceptual means[edit]

Thomas Edison with phonograph. Edison is considered one of the most prolific inventors in
history, holding 1,093 U.S. patents in his name. Invention is often a creative process. An open
and curious mind allows an inventor to see beyond what is known. Seeing a new possibility,
connection, or relationship can spark an invention. Inventive thinking frequently involves
combining concepts or elements from different realms that would not normally be put
together. Sometimes inventors disregard the boundaries betConceptual means[edit] Thomas
Edison with phonograph. Edison is considered one of the most prolific inventors in history,
holding 1,093 U.S. patents in his name. Invention is often a creative process. An open and
curious mind allows an inventor to see beyond what is known. Seeing a new possibility,
connection, or relationship can spark an invention. Inventive thinking frequently involves
combining concepts or elements from different realms that would not normally be put
together. Sometimes inventors disregard the boundaries between distinctly separate
territories or fields.[citation needed] Several concepts may be considered when thinking
about invention.ween distinctly separate territories or fields.[citation needed] Several
concepts may be considered when thinking about invention. Retrieved 2013-10-03. line feed
character in |publisher=at position 40 (help)

29. ^ [2] Archived September 14, 2008 at the Wayback Machine

30. ^ Creating Minds: An Anatomy of Creativity Seen Through the Lives of Freud, Einstein,
Picasso, Stravinsky, Eliot, Graham, and Gandhi by Howard Gardner (1993)

31. ^ Encyclopedia.com and Muybridge

32. ^ "Eadweard Muybridge (British photographer) - Encyclopedia Britannica" .

Britannica.com. 1904-05-08. Retrieved 2013-08-30.
33. ^ 1879, F. Auguste Bartholdi U.S. Patent D11,023

Further reading
Asimov, Isaac. Asimov's Chronology of Science and Discovery, Harper & Row, 1989. ISBN
0-06-015612-0

De Bono, Edward, "Eureka! An Illustrated History of Inventions from the Wheel to the
Computer", Thames & Hudson, 1974.

Cameron, Julia, Cameron, Julia, The Artists' Way

Fuller, Edmund, Tinkers and Genius: The Story of the Yankee Inventors. New York: Hastings
House, 1955.

Gowlett, John. Ascent to Civilization, McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1992. ISBN 0-07-544312-0

Meyer, Jerome S. Great Inventions. New York: Pocket Books, 1956.

Platt, Richard, "Eureka!: Great Inventions and How They Happened", 2003.

Patenting Art and Entertainment by Gregory Aharonian and Richard Stim (2004)

External links
Invention Ideas

List of PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) Notable Inventions at WIPO

Hottelet, Ulrich (October 2007). "Invented in Germany - made in Asia" . The Asia Pacific
Times.

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Last edited 20 days ago by Tobby72

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