'I Thought Of That First!' – Can You Patent That Bright Idea?

Ever had that momentary flash of genius where you had an idea so bright and radiant that it lit up the space above the latrine you were sitting on and you couldn't help but exclaim "Aha!", to the horror of the occupants of nearby cubicles?

What if that idea was related to something that would change the way things work or provide a solution to the world's problems? What next?

You would think to yourself that this idea is so brilliant that certainly nobody else would have thought about it, and you start making a business plan out of this idea, then realise that somebody else is bound to copy it. And the thought that some copycat is going to rip off your idea is plainly unforgivable.

So you find a patent agent and boldly declare to him that you have a brilliant idea you would like to patent. He gives you that condescending look before telling you no, you cannot patent that idea. In response, you storm out of the room, boiling with indignation that this person of minute intellect had the audacity to question your brilliant idea.

But is he correct? Can ideas be patented?

The short answer is, no, ideas per se cannot be patented.

Ideas are generally too broad or abstract to be the subject matter of a patent. For example, when stuck in a traffic jam, one would think that, "If I had a flying car, I wouldn't need to be stuck in this mess and take nonsense from these geniuses who are above the use of indicator lights." That sounds like a great idea. Who wouldn't want to be free from being stuck in a mind-numbing traffic jam?

To make the idea into something patentable, there must be a way to put the idea into actual practice. This is when ideas make the shift from being just an idea to an invention. An invention is basically an idea that solves a problem and can be put into practice. Returning to the example of the flying car, just the idea of a car that is capable of flight is of no value to anyone. Instead, what is of value is the manner in which the car is able to achieve flight. One would have to describe how this flying car would function, what are the physical features that would enable it to function, and what the benefits are if they are not apparent.

Thus, to turn this flying car into reality, one would most likely spend countless hours on the drawing board and the garage, designing, tinkering, experimenting, and watching YouTube videos of cats being spooked by cucumbers. At this stage, it is important to remember that for an invention to...