3.5 THE PROCESS AND PRODUCT OF INVENTING
We should separate the cognitive process that leads to patentable inventions, which is ordinary common-sense thinking, from the product of the process (the invention), which may range anywhere from truly pioneering to downright mediocre. The process to invention is always by deductive logic based on what we know and have experienced, combined with how these assets are organized in our brain. The impact of the product of this ordinary thinking process on society is often difficult to foresee, because it is influenced by a variety of external factors (economic, political, geographic, health, etc.) at the time the invention becomes known.
Every patent is a technical and legal document, and the patent system combines technology and law by means of a unique set of logic. Despite the fact that the patent system represents a truly intellectual discipline, it is regrettable that the instruction of patent law to science and engineering students is largely ignored in most universities, even those with strong science and engineering departments.
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