4 ms·

Wait, you can patent things that may be implemented in the future at some point? If so, the hard part is predicting things that will be invented in your lifeti

• cperciva 16y ago
  Wait, you can patent things that may be implemented in the future at some point? Sort of. Patents are supposed to include some detail about how the invention works -- I think the test might be "enough to allow someone skilled in the art to practice the invention", but I'm not entirely certain. Whatever the exact test is, the point remains that you can't just say "I patent perpetual motion" -- you have to explain how a perpetual motion machine works. That said, you don't have to actually have implemented the invention. You could get a patent on a new design of nuclear fusion reactor without having ever built such a reactor, as long as you describe it in enough detail.