What is the difference between an invention and a discovery?

In Virginia, the difference between an invention and a discovery is an important concept in the context of Intellectual Property Law. An invention is a new and useful physical or technical process or product, created through the process of human ingenuity and the application of scientific knowledge. An invention requires creativity or skill and is therefore protected from being copied or stolen by copyright law. On the other hand, a discovery is something that was already existing and available, but was merely identified or noticed. For instance, a scientist may discover a new element or a species of plant, but the scientist did not create it; it was already present in the environment. In Virginia, intellectual property such as inventions or discoveries are usually protected by patents, which are government-issued rights that protect the inventor or discoverer from having their work copied by anyone else. Patents grant the inventor or discoverer exclusive rights to their work, and are generally valid for a certain period of time. To summarize, the difference between an invention and a discovery is that inventions are something brand new, created through human ingenuity, and protected by patent law, whereas discoveries are something that was already present but identified or noticed. Understanding this difference is an important part of Intellectual Property Law in Virginia.

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What is the difference between an invention and a discovery?

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