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> What if the "invention" is not prior art, but other > people can come up with the same idea on their own? Then at the very least, it's evidence for obvio
by alttag 15y ago
> What if the "invention" is not prior art, but other
> people can come up with the same idea on their own?
Then at the very least, it's evidence for obviousness, which (although a tougher sell) can also invalidate a patent.
EDIT: IANAL
- prodigal_erik 15y agoUnfortunately "obvious" in patent law tends to mean there is published work suggesting putting stuff together in that way. If nobody has discussed the problem (e.g., you were the first to work on it), it somehow doesn't matter that anyone competent would have promptly settled on the same solution you did, and we aren't getting anything of value in return for your generation-long monopoly on it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inventive_step_and_non-obviousness#Teaching-suggestion-motivation_.28TSM.29_test http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inventive_step_and_non-obviousn...