The Guide to Entrepreneurship

Intellectual Property ◾ 223

the invention, he or she does not qualify as an inventor. A complete concep-

tion is composed of two parts:

1. recognition of the ultimate desired end

2. development of the means to accomplish the desired result

This is important because U.S. patent law has the unique requirement

that inventors must apply for a patent, and the inventors must be correctly

named or the issued patent may be invalid. At the risk of getting too techni-

cal, 35 U.S.C. § 111 (“An application for patent shall be made, or authorized

to be made, by the inventor….”); 35 U.S.C. § 115 (“The applicant shall make

oath that he believes himself to be the original and rst inventor…”), and 35

U.S.C. § 116 (“When an invention is made by two or more ...