February 11th is National Inventor's Day in the United States. Seriously, Reagan? I double-checked though and it does not yet appear to be an official Hallmark Holiday because Hallmark doesn't seem to make greeting cards for it. I feel like it has a pretty good shot though. I mean, check out the competition. According to Business Insider, the oddest holidays - with Hallmark cards – are: (1) Sweetest Day; (2) Tax Day; (3) Clergy Appreciation Day; (4) Nurses Day; (5) Doctors Day; (6) Bosses Day; and (7) Ferris Wheel Day.
So you've made the perfect card by hand instead, but you're having trouble figuring out who you should give it to, right? My theory on on why Hallmark hasn't picked up this holiday is because it is sometimes difficult to figure out who qualifies as an inventor.
In the United States, there are two basic steps to invention. First, conception. Second, reduction to practice. The Conceptor (totally made up word) is the person (or persons working together) who had the idea for the invention being claimed, and this step is complete once the Conceptor has a clear enough idea of the invention that someone familiar with the technology could create it. The Reductor (also completely made up word) is the person who builds out the idea into a working model. Of course, the Conceptor can also be the Reductor. So here is the weird part. Even though an invention technically requires both steps, a Reductor is not actually required. The Conceptor may have such a clear mental view of the invention that no actual reduction to practice is necessary.
A person is only considered an "Inventor" in the U.S. if she is a Conceptor. In fact, the Reductor is not an inventor at all.
Now for our Conceptor/Reductor quiz:
- The person who thought of the device/method described in a patent claim? - Conceptor.
- The person who assists in figuring out part of a technology described in a patent claim? - Conceptor.
- The machine operator who grinds out the invention pieces? Reductor.
- The engineer who creates a sturdier prototype of the invention? Reductor.
- The designer who makes a prettier/sleeker version of the prototype? Reductor.
- Buyer who locates and purchases all the parts needed to build a prototype? Reductor.
- The programmer who writes software to accomplish a specific function being requested? Reductor.
- The manager overseeing the invention team? Reductor.
- The beta tester who reports a problem? Reductor.
- The painter who paints the device? Reductor.
- The second person to come up with the idea? Defeated.
Since we have the holiday, we may as well celebrate. In honor of National Inventor's Day, I spent a few minutes on Quirky. A couple great ideas that redeemed the holiday for me:
Adaptable + remote control power strips:
Stapler that can staple the middle of the page:
Foldable hangers:
Customizable pocket knife:
Happy Inventor's Day.
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