What is the difference between an invention and an idea?

In South Carolina, intellectual property law protects inventions and ideas. However, these two categories of property have very different meanings. An invention is something tangible and new that is created with some form of human inventiveness. An invention consists of a physical object, a device, a process, or an improvement to an existing item. For an invention to be considered patentable, it must be new, useful and non-obvious. Patents are a form of intellectual property law that allow inventors to obtain exclusive rights to their inventions. An idea is an abstract thought. It is a concept that exists only in the mind of an individual. Ideas can become inventions if they are developed further or applied to something physical. However, ideas are not protected under intellectual property law because they cannot be owned. Therefore, inventors must protect their ideas by filing for patents to prevent others from using them to create similar inventions. To summarize, inventions are physical items, devices, processes or improvements that can be protected by a patent. Ideas, on the other hand, are intangible concepts that cannot be owned and must be developed further to be eligible for protection.

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