CHAPTER 21WHAT MAKES A GREAT INVENTION?

There is a big difference between something that is patentable and a truly great invention. Many great discoveries aren’t patentable. On the other hand, some minor variations may be easily protected. When you are deliberately creating new inventions, it’s important to understand the difference between what can be patented but isn’t of much value, and what really makes a valuable invention. It’s often hard to know ahead of time which patents will be the most useful, but there are criteria that can help to focus your inventive efforts on areas that are more likely to create significant value (fitting our definition of a great invention).

In Part 1 of this book, we discussed the basic components of patentability: ...

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