Editing Invention (section)

{{short description|Novel device, material or technical process}}
{{Redirect2|Invented|Inventor|other uses|Invention (disambiguation)|and|Inventor (disambiguation)}}

[[File:Science and Invention Nov 1928 Cover 2.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Cover of Science and Invention Magazine|'BUILD YOUR OWN TELEVISION RECEIVER.' ''[[Electrical Experimenter|Science and Invention]]'' magazine cover, November 1928]]

An '''invention''' is a unique or [[novelty (patent)|novel]] [[machine|device]], [[Method_(patent)|method]], composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an idea is unique enough either as a stand-alone invention or as a significant improvement over the work of others, it can be patented. A [[patent]], if granted, gives the inventor a proprietary interest in the patent over a specific period of time, which can be licensed for financial gain.

An '''inventor''' creates or discovers an invention. The word ''inventor'' comes from the [[Latin]] verb ''invenire'', ''invent-'', to find.<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=inventor&db=* inventor]. Dictionary.com. Retrieved 1 October 2017.</ref><ref>[http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=invent invent] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080115143418/http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=invent |date=2008-01-15 }}. ''[[Merriam-Webster]]''. Retrieved 1 October 2017.</ref> Although inventing is closely associated with science and engineering, inventors are not necessarily engineers or scientists.<ref>*[https://www.britannica.com/topic/inventor Inventor]. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 1 October 2017.</ref> The ideation process may be augmented by the applications of algorithms and methods from the domain collectively known as [[evolutionary robotics|artificial intelligence]] .<ref name="Hornby">{{cite journal
  | first = Gregory S.
  | last =  Hornby
  | author2=Al Globus |author3=Derek S. Linden |author4=Jason D. Lohn
  | title = Automated antenna design with evolutionary algorithms
  | publisher = American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
  | journal = Space
  | date = September 2006
  | url = http://alglobus.net/NASAwork/papers/Space2006Antenna.pdf
  | access-date = 2012-02-19}}</ref>

Some inventions can be patented.  The system of [[patent]]s was established to encourage inventors by granting limited-term, limited [[monopoly]] on inventions determined to be sufficiently [[Novelty_(patent)|novel]], [[Inventive_step_and_non-obviousness|non-obvious]], and [[Utility (patentability requirement)|useful]] or has [[industrial applicability]]. A patent is [[Jurisdiction|jurisdictional]], meaning that a patent only provides rights to the patent owner within the jurisdiction (Country or Countries) in which the patent was obtained. A patent provides the patent owner (who may or may not be an inventor) the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling an invention or importing it into the jurisdiction. The rules and requirements for patenting an invention vary by country and the process of obtaining a patent is often expensive.

Another meaning of invention is '''[[cultural invention]]''', which is an [[innovative]] set of useful [[social behaviour]]s adopted by people and passed on to others.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Saper, Craig J. |title=Artificial Mythologies : a Guide to Cultural Invention. |date=1997 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |isbn=978-0-8166-8773-2 |oclc=437188488}}</ref> The [[Institute for Social Inventions]] collected many such ideas in magazines and books.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Albery |first=Nicholas. |title=Best ideas : a compendium of social innovations : the latest ideas and award-winning schemes from the Institute for Social Inventions |date=1995 |publisher=Institute for Social Inventions |isbn=0-948826-37-1 |oclc=36969054}}</ref> Invention is also an important component of artistic and design [[creativity]]. Inventions often extend the boundaries of human knowledge, experience or capability.