> I believe this is the same way with patents in manufacturing. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you need to produce the mechanical process you are patenting and at least show it is viable before patenting it?
Not really.
Oh, you can't patent a perpetual motion machine, but you can patent an improvement to a process without showing that you can implement the whole process.
Suppose that I come up with an improvement in making steel in massive amounts. Do you really think that I shouldn't be allowed to patent it without building a large steel mill? (Two interesting cases are the lone "nut" and a university researcher.)
Not really.
Oh, you can't patent a perpetual motion machine, but you can patent an improvement to a process without showing that you can implement the whole process.
Suppose that I come up with an improvement in making steel in massive amounts. Do you really think that I shouldn't be allowed to patent it without building a large steel mill? (Two interesting cases are the lone "nut" and a university researcher.)