Invention

"Inventor" redirects here. For a software product of this name, see Autodesk Inventor.

"Invented" redirects here. For the 2010 Jimmy Eat World album, see Invented (album).

For other uses, see Invention (disambiguation).

An invention is a new composition, device, or process. An invention may be derived from a pre-existing model or idea, or it could be independently conceived in which case it may be a radical breakthrough. In addition, there is cultural invention, which is an innovative set of useful social behaviors adopted by people and passed on to others. Inventions often extend the boundaries of human knowledge or experience. An invention that is novel and not obvious to others skilled in the same field may be able to obtain the legal protection of a patent.

Process

Invention is a creative process. An open and curious mind allows an inventor to see beyond what is known. Seeing a new possibility, a new 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. Ways of thinking, materials, processes or tools from one realm are used as no one else has imagined in a different realm.

Play can lead to invention. Childhood curiosity, experimentation, and imagination can develop one's play instinct—an inner need according to Carl Jung. Inventors feel the need to play with things that interest them, and to explore, and this internal drive brings about novel creations. Thomas Edison: "I never did a day's work in my life, it was all fun". Inventing can also be an obsession. 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; or when the focus is on something else; or even 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". Inventions can also be accidental, such as in the case of polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon).

Insight is also a vital element of invention. It 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).

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 have to be developed. Inventors believe in their ideas and they do not give up in the face of one or many failures. Inventors are often famous for their confidence, their perseverance and their passion.

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, e.g., lighter weight, more ergonomic, structurally different, with new light or color properties, etc. Or an entirely new invention may be created such as the Internet, email, the telephone or electric light. Necessity may be the mother of invention, invention may be its own reward, or invention can create necessity. Nobody needed a phonograph before Edison invented it, the need for it developed afterward. Likewise, few ever imagined the telephone or the airplane prior to their invention, but many people cannot live without these inventions now.

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. As the dialogue between Picasso and Braque brought about Cubism, collaboration has spawned many inventions. Brainstorming can spark new ideas. Collaborative creative processes are frequently used by designers, architects and scientists. Co-inventors are frequently named on patents. Now it is easier than ever for people in different locations to collaborate. Many inventors keep records of their working process - notebooks, photos, etc., including Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein. 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. There is only one country in the world that will grant patent rights for an invention that continues part of an invention in a previously filed patent—the United States.

The creation of an invention and its use can be affected by practical considerations. Visionary inventors commonly collaborate with technical experts, manufacturers, investors and/or business people to turn an invention from idea into reality, and possibly even to turn invention into innovation. Nevertheless, there are inventions that are too expensive to produce and inventions that require scientific advancements that have not yet occurred. These barriers can erode or disappear as the economic situation changes or as science develops. But history shows that turning the idea of an invention into reality is not always a swift or a direct process, even for terrific inventions. It took centuries for some of Leonardo da Vinci's inventions to become reality. 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. It is interesting that some invention ideas that have never been made in reality can obtain patent protection.

An invention can serve many purposes, these purposes might differ significantly and they may change over time. An invention or a further developed version of it may serve purposes never envisioned by its original inventor(s) or even by others living at the time of its original invention. As an example, consider all the kinds of plastic developed, their innumerable uses, and the tremendous growth this material invention is still undergoing today.

Timeline of historic invention

Main article: timeline of historic inventions

The timeline of historic inventions is a chronological list of particularly important or significant technological inventions.

Artistic invention

Invention has a long and important history in the arts. Inventive thinking has always played a vital role in the creative process. 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).

Art, design and architecture

"A man paints with his brain and not with his hands." - Michelangelo

Art is continuously reinvented. Many artists, designers, and architects think like inventors. As they create, they may: explore beyond that which is known or obvious, push against barriers, change or discard conventions, and/or break into new territory. Breaking the rules became the most valued attribute in art during the 20th century, with the highest acclaim going to conceptual innovation which frequently involved the invention of new genres. For the first time the idea within the artwork was unmistakably more important than the tangible art object. All kinds of artists have been inventing throughout history, and among their inventions are important contributions to visual art and other fields.

Some visual artists like Picasso become inventors in the process of creating art. Inventions by other artists are separate from their art, such as the scientific inventions of Leonardo da Vinci. Some inventions in visual art employ prior developments in science or technology. For example, Picasso and Julio Gonzalez used welding to invent a new kind of sculpture, the form of which could be more open to light and air, and more recently, computer software has enabled an explosion of invention in visual art, including the invention of computer art, and invention in photography, film, architecture and design. Like the invention of welded sculpture, other inventions in art are new mediums, new art forms, or both. Examples are: the collage and the construction invented by Picasso, the Readymade invented by Marcel Duchamp, the mobile invented by Alexander Calder, the combine invented by Robert Rauschenberg, the shaped painting invented by Frank Stella, and the motion picture, the invention of which is attributed to Eadweard Muybridge. Art has been reinvented by developing new processes of creation. For example, Jackson Pollock invented an entirely new form of painting and a new kind of abstraction by dripping, pouring, splashing and splattering paint onto unstretched canvas laying on the floor. A number of art movements were inventions often created collaboratively, such as Cubism invented by Picasso and Braque. Substantial inventions in art, design and architecture were made possible by inventions and improvements in the tools of the trade. The invention of Impressionist painting, for example, was possible because the prior invention of collapsible, resealable metal paint tubes facilitated spontaneous painting outdoors. Inventions originally created in the form of artwork can also develop other uses, as Alexander Calder's mobile is commonly used over babies' cribs today. Funds generated from patents on inventions in art, design and architecture can support the realization of the invention or other creative work. Frederic Auguste Bartholdi's 1879 patent on the Statue of Liberty helped fund the statue currently in New York harbor because it covered small replicas.

Among other artists, designers and architects who are or were inventors are: Filippo Brunelleschi, Le Corbusier, Naum Gabo, Frederick Hart, Charles Eames, Louis Comfort Tiffany, John La Farge, Buckminster Fuller, Walt Disney, Man Ray, Yves Klein, Henry N. Cobb, I. M. Pei, Kenneth Snelson, Helen Frankenthaler, Chuck (Charles) Hoberman and Ingo Maurer. Some of their inventions have been patented. Others might have fulfilled the requirements of a patent, like the Cubist image. There are also inventions in visual art that do not fit into the requirements of a patent. Examples are inventions that cannot be differentiated from that which has already existed clearly enough for approval by government patent offices, such as Duchamp's Readymade and other conceptual works. Invention whose inventor or inventors are not known cannot be patented, such as the invention of abstract art or abstract painting, oil painting, Process Art, Installation art and Light Art. Also, when it cannot or has not been determined whether something was a first in human history or not, there may not be a patentable invention even though it may be considered an invention in the realm of art. For example, Picasso is credited with inventing collage though this was done earlier in cultures outside of the western world.

Inventions in the visual arts that may be patentable might be new materials or mediums, new kinds of images, new processes, novel designs, or they may be a combination of these. Inventions by Filippo Brunelleschi, Frederick Hart, Charles Eames, Louis Comfort Tiffany, John La Farge, Walt Disney, Henry N. Cobb, Chuck (Charles) Hoberman and others received patents. The color, International Klein Blue invented by Yves Klein was patented in 1960 and used two years later in his sculpture. Inventions by Kenneth Snelson which are crucial to his sculptures are patented. R. Buckminster Fuller's famous geodesic dome is covered in one of his 28 US patents. Ingo Maurer known for his lighting design has a series of patents on inventions in these works. Many inventions created collaboratively by designers at IDEO Inc. have been patented. Countless other examples can easily be found by searching patents at the websites of the Patent Offices of various countries, such as http://www.USPTO.gov. Inventions in design can be protected in a special kind of patent called a "design patent". The first design patent was granted in 1842 to George Bruce for a new font. See a database of patents in the arts at http://www.patenting-art.com/database/dbase1-e.htm. See images and text from some patents in the arts at http://www.patenting-art.com/images/images-e.htm.

Timeline of Invention in Art, Design and Architecture – dates may be approximations

350,000 BCE – Paint was invented by Africans. Pigment and paint grinding equipment was found in a cave at Twin Rivers near Lusaka, Zambia.

31,000 BCE – Representational painting was invented. Murals of stampeding bulls, cantering horses, red bears and woolly rhinoceros are found in the Chauvet Caves in France.

22,000 BCE – Sculpture was invented by Paleolithic tribes who created the female statuette called the Venus of Willendorf, found in near Willendorf, Austria.

4000 BCE – Papyrus, the precursor to paper was invented by the Egyptians by pounding flat woven mats of reeds.

2500 BCE – Egyptian blue pigment was invented by Egyptian chemists using a mixture of limestone (calcium oxide), malachite (copper oxide) and quartz (silica) fired to about 800-900 degrees Celsius.

500 BCE – Encaustic paints are invented by Greek artists by mixing colored pigments and wax.

450 BCE – Depicting the illusion of three-dimensional form on a two-dimensional surface was invented with the chiaroscuro painting technique that employs highlights and shadows.

250 BCE – Glassblowing was invented by Syrian craftsmen in Babylonia.

105 – Paper was invented by Ts’ai Lun, a Chinese court official.

650 – Porcelain was invented by Chinese artists in the Tang Dynasty as a fired mixture of kaolin (a clay) and petuntse (a feldspar).

1306 – A more naturalistic means of representational painting was invented by Giotto di Bondone using depth, perspective and temporal realism to present a single moment in time.

1400’s – A cupola or dome which did not require a framework supporting it’s curves was invented by Filippo Brunelleschi. To transport the large stones to the construction site, Brunelleschi invented a unique boat capable of moving heavy cargo upriver and was granted exclusive rights to use his boat to move heavy loads, patent rights.

1400’s – Linear perspective was invented with work by Filippo Brunelleschi, and a treatise on perspective theory by Leon Battista Alberti. Perspective is a method for depicting the illusion of three-dimensions on a two-dimensional surface.

1420 – The use of a single, consistent light source in painting with figures painted to appear three-dimensional was invented by the Italian artist, Masaccio (Tommaso di Giovanni). See his 1427 painting, “Tribute Money”.

1485 – Sfumato, a painting technique in which an atmospheric or blurry effect is created with minute transitions between color areas was invented by Leonardo da Vinci. Sfumato is seen in Leonardo’s, “Virgin on the Rocks” and "Mona Lisa".

1503 – Surrealism was invented by Flemish artist, Hieronymus Bosch with his triptych, "The Garden of Earthly Delights".

1774 – Jasperware, a dense vitreous pottery that could be turned on a lathe was invented by Josiah Wedgwood.

1816 – The photograph was invented by Joseph Nicephore Niepce using paper coated with silver chloride “fixed” with nitric acid.

1816 – a resolution contrast technique of painting and drawing was invented by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres who used it to depict faces in high resolution with the rest of the image in low resolution, as for example in his drawing, “Mrs. Charles Badham.”

1861 – The color photograph was invented by physicist, James Clerk Maxwell.

1863 – Multiple subject painting was invented by Edouard Manet. His “Le dejeuner sur l'herbe” presents four disconnected figures not looking at one another, lighted from different directions. Dejeuner sur l’herbe also has a disconnected background-to-foreground perspective that eliminates the middle ground.

1865 – Chromolithograph prints were invented by Jules Cheret.

1872 – Serial photomontage, the precursor to motion pictures was invented by Eadweard Muybridge and Etienne-Jules Marey by using multiple cameras to photograph moving objects.

1873 – Nonlinear horizon lines were invented by Edouard Manet, eliminating the horizon line in his 1874 painting “Boating.”

1882 – Multiple time depiction was invented by Edouard Manet in his “Bar at the Folies-Bergere” which depicts a bar scene from two points in space at two different moments in time.

1884 – Pointillism was invented by Georges Seurat who created entire paintings using small dots of pure unmixed color.

1886 – Trompe l’oeil was invented by William Michael Harnett an American painter.

1888 – A technique of portraying a subject from different perspectives and of distorting subject matter in painting was invented by Paul Cezanne.

1891 – A technique of unfreezing time in still images was invented by Claude Monet who painted the same subject at many different times during the day, showing how it appeared differently largely due to the change in natural light. He painted the cathedral at Rouen at 40 different times of the day and he painted the same haystack at 20 different moments in a year.

1902- A technique of indeterminate time was invented in painting by Paul Cezanne in his painting Mont Sainte-Victorie, in which the sources and direction of light are not discernible.

1902 – The teddy bear was invented by Morris and Rose Michtom based on a cartoon of a bear saved by President Theodore Roosevelt.

1903 – The 3-D (three-dimensional) movie was invented by Auguste and Louis Lumiere with their one minute film, “L’Arrivee du Train.”

1904 – Fauvism was invented by Henri Matisse, Maurice de Vlaminck, Andre Derain and others.

1907 – A variety of special effects for film were invented by Georges Melies in his film, “Tunneling the English Channel”, including stop-motion photography, split-screen photography, stop action animation and the combination of live action with full scale mechanical backgrounds.

1915 – The multistable image was invented by W. E. Hill, with his drawing, “My Wife and My Mother-in-Law,” an image that can present either a young woman or an older woman.

1908 to 1917 – Cubism was invented by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. In Cubist artworks, the subject, whether it be a figure or a still life, is broken up and reassembled, and presented from multiple views simultaneously. Cubism revolutionized western art, and influenced other art forms like music and literature.

1912 – Collage was invented by Picasso with his “Still Life with Chair Caning.” Attaching a material from the real world that was not ever used in high art into a painting violated what was previously considered the integrity of the artwork. Collage was a new process for making art, a new art form, and it expanded the definition of art.

1912 – The Construction was invented by Picasso when he created “Guitar” in 1912 by joining parts together. This additive image making process was new to western sculpture which was previously made using subtractive processes like carving stone or wood, or modeling clay which may have then been cast in metal.

1917 – the Readymade was invented and exhibited by Marcel Duchamp, “The Fountain” an upturned urinal signed by the artist. The Readymade expanded the definition of art and of an artist.

1917 – De Stijl a kind of art based on pure geometry was invented by Theo van Doesburg.

1926 – Science fiction movies were invented by Fritz Lang with his movie “Metropolis” which incorporates dynamic visual and special effects.

1928 – Welded sculpture a new medium, a new process and a new art form was invented by Pablo Picasso and Julio Gonzalez, opening up the solid form of sculpture to negative space and transparency.

1928 – Mickey Mouse was created by Walt Disney.

1929 – Film noir was invented by Josef Sternberg with his film, “Thunderbolt.”

1932 – The mobile was invented by Alexander Calder.

1936 – A device that greatly speeds up the process of making cartoons and enables them to appear more realistic was invented and patented by Walt Disney who used it to create the classic “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” in 1937. Refer to US Patent 2,201,689.

1947-50 – Painting was reinvented by Jackson Pollock whose novel method of spontaneously dripping and splattering paint from a can onto unstretched canvas laid out on the floor brought about an expanded understanding of pure abstraction and of art.

1948 – The Glass House by the architect, Philip Johnson, reduced building down to it’s most basic elements: a horizontal slab on the ground, vertical supports, a flat roof and transparent glass wrapped around it.

1952 – Stain painting, in which liquid paint soaks and bleeds into the fabric of unprimed canvas was invented by Helen Frankenthaler, as seen in her painting “Mountains and Sea” of 1952.

1959 – the first public “happening” was produced by Allan Kaprow at the Reuben Gallery in New York. A happening is defined by Kaprow as a choreographed event that facilitates interactions between objects including performers and visitors. Happenings were influenced by Jackson Pollock’s process of action painting, Dada and the teachings of John Cage on chance and indeterminacy.

Music

Music has been expanded by invention over the course of thousands of years.

Timeline - dates may be approximations

5000 BCE - The first flutes were made in India out of wood.

3000 BCE - The first string instrument, the guqin was invented in China.

619 - The orchestra was invented in the Chinese royal courts with hundreds of musicians.

855 - Polyphonic music was invented.

910 - The musical score was invented by the musician, Hucbaldus. He also invented a staff that had an indefinite number of lines.

1025 - Musical notes were invented by Guido of Arezzo, named UT, RE, MI, FA, SO and LA. Later in the 16th century UT was changed to DO and TI was added. Lines/staves to space printed notes were added then too.

1225 - Rounds, songs sung in harmony, were invented with the song, Sumer is icumen in by John of Fornsete, an English monk.

1607 - A tonal system that gave the recitative a more flexible accompaniment was invented, revolutionizing music in the first opera masterpiece, Orfeo, by Claudio Monteverdi, a composer, musician and singer.

1696 - The metronome, a device for beating time was invented by Etienne Loulie, a musician, pedagogue and musical theorist.

1698-1708 - The piano was invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori

1787 - Algorithmic music was invented by Amadeus Mozart with his Musikalisches Wurfelspiel.

1829 - The accordion, a portable reed instrument was invented by Damian.

1835 - The tuba[1] proper was first patented by Prussian bandmaster Wilhelm Wieprecht and German instrument-builder Johann Gottfried Moritz.

1841 - The saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax, an instrument maker.

1880 - Tango music was invented by the Argentinians, combining African, Indian and Spanish rhythms.

1919 - The first electronic music instrument, the theremin was invented by Lev Theremin. It is played by moving hands near an antenna.

1922 - Muzak, engineered music without vocals, tempo changes or brass instruments was invented by Brig. General George Owen Squier.

1932 - The electric guitar, the Frying pan was invented by George Beauchamp

1953 - Rock and Roll was invented by the musician, Bill Haley with Crazy Man Crazy combining guitars, saxophones, piano, bass, and snare drums, who was imitating African American musicians such as Chuck Berry.

1957 - Computer-assisted musical composition was invented with Illiac Suite for String Quartet by scientists at the University of Illinois in Urbana.

1964 - The Moog Synthesizer was invented by Robert Moog.

1974 - The Chapman Stick was invented by Emmett Chapman.

Literature

Literature has been reinvented throughout history.

Timeline - dates may be approximations

1950 BC - The novel was invented with a narrative form. This was Story of Sinuhe about a prince of Egypt who flees after a court killing, is saved in the desert by a Bedouin tribe, and marries the eldest daughter of a king. Some people see Story of Sinuhe as the precursor of the story of Moses in the Bible.

675 BC - The heroic ballad was invented by Stesichorus of Sicily.

553 - Scandal literature was invented by Procopius in Anecdota.

808 - Copying written works by printing was invented by the Chinese who created The Diamond Sutra a seven page paper scroll, printed with woodblocks.

1022 - The romance novel was invented by Murasaki Shikibu, a Japanese noblewoman who wrote Genji the Shining One.

1657 - The science fiction novel was invented by Savinien Cyrano de Bergerac who wrote Les etas et empires de la lune about a trip to the moon.

1816 - Literary horror was invented by Mary Shelley who wrote Frankenstein.

1843 - The mystery novel was invented by Edgar Allan Poe who wrote "The Gold-Bug".

1843 - The photographically illustrated book was invented by Anna Atkins with her book, "British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions"

1857 - Writing in which the author conceals a single narrator's perspective and uses multiple other points of view was first done by Gustav Flaubert in Madame Bovary.

1895 - The serial comic strip was invented by the publisher, Joseph Pulitzer with The Yellow Kid, in the New World Newspaper.

Performing arts

The value of invention in acting was noted by Paul Newman when retiring, "You start to lose your memory, your confidence, your invention. So that's pretty much a closed book for me".

Works by Martha Graham and many other artists known for invention.

Timeline - dates may be approximations

2500 BCE - Theater was invented by Egyptian priests with their annual ritual, the "Abydos Passion Play" about the God, Osiris. The Ikhernofret hieroglyphic stone dating from 1868 BCE provides an account of the play by a participant listing eight acts.

2200 BCE - Mythic storytelling was invented by Sumerian priests with a story about the flooding of the earth involving many Gods and pious King Ziusdra.

1800 BCE - The derivative work was invented by the Babylonians when they adapt and expand the flood story in their "Epic of Gilgamesh" which involves a pious King Atrahasis.

450 BCE - Mime was invented by Sophron of Syracuse.

1597 - Opera was invented by Jacopo Peri with Dafne. Peri was an Italian composer and singer.

1780 - Bolero dance was invented by Sebastiano Carezo, a Spanish dancer.

1833 - Minstrel shows were invented by Thomas Dartmouth "Daddy" Rice.

1880 - Tango dance was invented by the Argentinians, combining African, Indian and Spanish rhythms.

1922 - Radio drama was invented as Eugene Walter's play, The Wolf was broadcast by WGY, a station in Schenectady, New York. WGY later created a whole radio show, The WGY Players that presented radio adaptations of popular plays.

1993 - a system that allows the wearer of specially designed shoes to lean forward beyond his center of gravity and appear to defy gravity was invented and patented by Michael Jackson, Michael Bush, and Dennis Tompkins. Michael Jackson used it in performances. Refer to US Patent No. 5,255,452.

Implementation

Inventions get out into the world in different ways. Some are sold, licensed or given away as products or services. Simply exhibiting visual art, playing music or having a performance gets many artistic inventions out into the world. Believing in the success of an invention can involve risk, so it can be difficult to obtain support and funding. Grants, inventor associations, clubs and business incubators can provide the mentoring, skills and resources some inventors need. Success at getting an invention out into the world often requires passion for it and good entrepreneurial skills.

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 will be under-rewarded for their inventions, and systematic under-rewarding will lead 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 will invest a more-closely-optimum amount of resources in the process of invention.

Invention in patent law

The legal invention concept is central in patent law. As is often the case for legal concepts, its meaning is slightly different from common parlance meaning. A further complication is that the invention concept is quite different in American and European patent law.

In Europe, the first test patent applications are submitted to is: "is this an invention"? If it is, subsequent questions to be answered are whether it is new, and sufficiently inventive. The implication - rather counterintuitively - 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 have decided that the technical character of an application is decisive for it to be an invention, following an age-old 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 and innovation

Main article: Innovation

In the social sciences, an innovation is anything new to a culture, whether it has been adopted or not. The theory for adoption (or non-adoption) of an innovation, called diffusion of innovations, considers the likelihood that an innovation will ever be adopted and the taxonomy of persons likely to adopt it or spur its adoption. This theory was first put forth by Everett Rogers. Gabriel Tarde also dealt with the adoption of innovations in his Laws of Imitation.

See also

• List of Australian inventions
• Bayh-Dole Act
• Chindōgu
• Creativity
• Creativity techniques
• Diffusion of innovations
• EU Directive on the patentability of biotechnological inventions
• EU Directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions (proposed, then rejected)
• Discovery
• Edisonian approach
• The Illustrated Science and Invention Encyclopedia
• Independent inventor
• International Innovation Index
• Invention promotion firm
• Inventive step and non-obviousness (patentability requirements)
• Inventor's Day
• Islamic inventions
• Kranzberg's laws of technology
• Lemelson-MIT Prize
• List of Chinese inventions
• List of Russian inventors
• Timeline of Russian inventions
• English inventions and discoveries
• List of Indian inventions
• List of United States inventions
• List of inventions named after people
• List of inventors
• List of prolific inventors
• Mad scientist
• Mind's eye
• Multiple discovery
• National Inventors Hall of Fame
• Technology
• The heroic theory of invention and scientific development
• Timeline of historic inventions, for a detailed list of inventions, listed by date of invention
• TRIZ approach

References

• 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.
• Gowlett, John. Ascent to Civilization, McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1992. ISBN 0-07-544312-0
• Platt, Richard, "Eureka!: Great Inventions and How They Happened", 2003.
• Patenting Art and Entertainment by Gregory Aharonian and Richard Stim (2004)

External links

• List of PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) Notable Inventions (on the WIPO web site)