Re:My New Patent. (Score 1)

You can't patent something that you didn't discover. The law is that if it's been known and in the public for more than a year, you're screwed, you can't get a patent on it. So if you read about something in a book or magazine, it's probably too late - the idea is out there, it's taken. You can't get a patent. The only way around it is if it's only been publically known for a year or less, and you can prove that you invented the thing before that. As for water, the wheel, the abacus, etc., they've been known about for a long time - too late.