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Are patents _required_ to teach a reader how to make the invention? That seems like an interesting requirement that I hadn't heard of before, and I've got a pat
by owenversteeg 8y ago
Are patents _required_ to teach a reader how to make the invention? That seems like an interesting requirement that I hadn't heard of before, and I've got a patent with my name on it myself.
- testvox 8y agoYes that's the entire point of patents. To pay people for sharing their ideas with others. If your patent can't do that you don't get paid.
- _rpd 8y ago35 U.S.C. § 112(a) ... > The specification [of the patent] shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same It's the raison d'etre of patents. A time-limited monopoly in exchange for full documentation of the invention for the long term public good.
- owenversteeg 8y agoHuh. Thanks for including the relevant part of the US Code. I'll be honest, I had no idea it was a requirement. I've read plenty of patents where the patent definitely would not function to let someone build the invention in question. I wonder how strictly this is enforced.
- nraynaud 8y agothe deal was: you document your invention for the good of humanity and we give you a 25 years exclusivity. It was an encyclopedic endeavor.