Identifying Invention
Written by Ben Esplin
The heart of the patent process is invention. In fact, most of the patent process is essentially a vetting of solutions to determine whether or not they arise to the level of “invention” that entitles the developer(s) to a patent (35 U.S.C. § 101). With this in mind, it is not surprising I spend a considerable amount of time at the beginning of the patent process helping companies identify “inventions” which could be protected via patent.
Merriam Webster’s Online Dictionary defines the verb “invent” as “to produce (something, such as a useful device or process) for the first time through the use of the imagination or of ingenious thinking and experiment.” I could not agree more about the imagination and ingenuity of inventors. As a class, these folks are an inspiration to me, and the opportunity to learn about technological innovation from the minds who conceived it is probably my favorite part of being a patent attorney.
I have come to characterize invention differently than Merriam Webster, however. Over time, I have learned the core of invention is not the conception, development, or production of a solution. True invention lies in the recognition of a need. Need is recognized through a variety of different processes, and I will not attempt to enumerate them here. But this insight can be extremely useful in identifying and understanding “inventions” developed by the creative folks who often just consider themselves problem-solvers.
When strategizing about how to protect innovation, it is useful to reframe the exercise through this lens: what is the need being met by the innovation, and how comprehensive is the solution proposed by the inventors currently? Inventors, who are typically laser-focused on finding solutions, tend to skip over the initial identification of a problem when they describe their work. In fact, they will often undermine their own creativity by suggesting the solution they have conceived is simple and would have been apparent to anyone confronted with the problem they were addressing.
Pushing an inventor to identify the underlying problem is valuable because it can lead to a discussion of potential alternatives for the proposed solution. It also helps to focus attention on the most valuable components of the invented solution: those most critical to addressing the underlying problem.
If you would like a free consultation to discuss how to identify protectable invention at your company using this approach, please reach out at your earliest convenience.