What is the difference between an invention and an idea?

In Mississippi, the differences between an invention and an idea are important to understand when it comes to intellectual property law. Generally, an idea is a concept or thought that has not yet been turned into a product or service. For example, if a person has an idea for a new type of car, it is just an idea at that point and is not protected under intellectual property law. On the other hand, an invention is a product or process that is new, useful, and non-obvious. This means that it is something that has not been done before and has some practical application. In the same example, if the person with the idea for a new type of car creates a prototype and applies for a patent, then the car is now an invention and is protected by intellectual property law. In other words, an idea is a concept, whereas an invention is a tangible result of taking a concept and developing it into a product or service. It is important to understand the distinction between the two since the concept of intellectual property law is based on protecting the rights of inventors to the products or services they create.

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