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The claim in the article was "invented in 1947"; a patent is by definition granted for an invention, regardless whether a working device was built or not.

by Rochus 5y ago

analog31 5y ago
As I understand it the patent is only valid if it shows that the idea can be reduced to practice.
- Rochus 5y ago
  No. It must be novel, non-obvious and "useful", which obviously was considered to be fulfilled by the patent office. The patent describes how the invention can be used instead of tubes.
  - analog31 5y ago
    Doesn't there need to be a preferred embodiment? Not debating, just curious.
    - Rochus 5y ago
      I have not studied the content of the patent, but the "Cited by" list includes the Who's Who of the industry; so the invention is apparently relevant.
- pacificmint 5y ago
  Someone got a patent for a warp drive [1], so I don't think being actually possible is a requirement for patents. [1] https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2001057881A1/en https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2001057881A1/en
causi 5y ago
I believe the you have a different definition of "invented" than the author and myself.
- Rochus 5y ago
  https://definitions.uslegal.com/i/invention/ https://definitions.uslegal.com/i/invention/ https://www.ige.ch/en/protecting-your-ip/patents/patent-basics/what-is-an-invention https://www.ige.ch/en/protecting-your-ip/patents/patent-basi... https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/invention https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/invention
  - causi 5y ago
    Those sources appear to exclude Lilienfeld. He didn't create a good or tool. He didn't create a material. He didn't create a manufacturing process or a control procedure or a method of measurement. Lilienfeld was a brilliant man but he didn't invent transistors any more than Albert Einstein invented gravitational wave detectors.
    - Rochus 5y ago
      The patent doesn't mention the term "transistor"; but obviously the patent office came to the conclusion that it is a patentable invention, and the cited by list confirms that it is considered a relevant invention by Bell Labs and other notable institutions. Prior art by Lilienfeld did even stop some applications of Bell Labs from going forward. The transistor invented in 1947 was a point-contact transistor, which is not the concept applied in micro processors as the article confirms.

The claim in the article was "invented in 1947"; a patent is by definition granted for an invention, regardless whether a working device was built or not.

by Rochus 5y ago

The claim in the article was "invented in 1947"; a patent is by definition granted for an invention, regardless whether a working device was built or not.

analog31 5y ago

As I understand it the patent is only valid if it shows that the idea can be reduced to practice.

Rochus 5y ago
No. It must be novel, non-obvious and "useful", which obviously was considered to be fulfilled by the patent office. The patent describes how the invention can be used instead of tubes.
- analog31 5y ago
  Doesn't there need to be a preferred embodiment? Not debating, just curious.
  - Rochus 5y ago
    I have not studied the content of the patent, but the "Cited by" list includes the Who's Who of the industry; so the invention is apparently relevant.
pacificmint 5y ago
Someone got a patent for a warp drive [1], so I don't think being actually possible is a requirement for patents. [1] https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2001057881A1/en https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2001057881A1/en

causi 5y ago

I believe the you have a different definition of "invented" than the author and myself.

Rochus 5y ago
https://definitions.uslegal.com/i/invention/ https://definitions.uslegal.com/i/invention/ https://www.ige.ch/en/protecting-your-ip/patents/patent-basics/what-is-an-invention https://www.ige.ch/en/protecting-your-ip/patents/patent-basi... https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/invention https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/invention
- causi 5y ago
  Those sources appear to exclude Lilienfeld. He didn't create a good or tool. He didn't create a material. He didn't create a manufacturing process or a control procedure or a method of measurement. Lilienfeld was a brilliant man but he didn't invent transistors any more than Albert Einstein invented gravitational wave detectors.
  - Rochus 5y ago
    The patent doesn't mention the term "transistor"; but obviously the patent office came to the conclusion that it is a patentable invention, and the cited by list confirms that it is considered a relevant invention by Bell Labs and other notable institutions. Prior art by Lilienfeld did even stop some applications of Bell Labs from going forward. The transistor invented in 1947 was a point-contact transistor, which is not the concept applied in micro processors as the article confirms.