Still, the problem remains, if both companies spend lots of time and money and end up finding the same thing at approximately the same time, one will have the patent and the other won't. Yet they both worked hard and invested a lot.
So, you are suggesting that a patent should be based on time and money spent? Well, I guess I'm screwed since I invented a light bulb that uses one tenth the amount of energy a current LED bulb consumes, but it was a random thought, and only cost $1000 for the prototype. But, since I came up with it over dinner, and had a prototype made from parts at radioshack, I guess I shouldn't get the patent. Thanks for that bit of enlightenment.
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Still, the problem remains, if both companies spend lots of time and money and end up finding the same thing at approximately the same time, one will have the patent and the other won't. Yet they both worked hard and invested a lot.
So, you are suggesting that a patent should be based on time and money spent? Well, I guess I'm screwed since I invented a light bulb that uses one tenth the amount of energy a current LED bulb consumes, but it was a random thought, and only cost $1000 for the prototype. But, since I came up with it over dinner, and had a prototype made from parts at radioshack, I guess I shouldn't get the patent. Thanks for that bit of enlightenment.