¶ Patent
Index Entry
Patent:
"In general, it can be said that patents are never granted for covering fundamental principles of nature. You cannot patent any unique geometry. I have a great many patents and none of them are granted in the terms of the specific mechanical, structural, and chemical technology employed to realize an interaction of a plurality of principles.
"It is also necessary that there be a fundamental surprise quality in an invention. Though patents can be secured from the patent office, they hold up in court when this fundamentally unique and illusive quality of surprise is undeniably present…
“I am saying these many things to you not with the idea of discouraging you as an inventor but to save you money in your patent work. I have always found it a great help to have powerful patent searches made. They often disclose earlier invention in areas where I had thought myself to be the inventor. I never let an earlier invention discourage me, but I do not want to kid myself into thinking I am an inventor when I am not.”
¶ Citations
- RBF Ltr. to Steve Baer, 19 Apr’66
