Appeal No. 2006-3253 Page 15
Application No. 10/276,547
think of. The inventor could then hope that evidence could be developed later to show
that one of the guesses was right, and submit the later-arising data as evidence
“confirming” the statement of utility in at least one respect.
The purpose of the patent system is to encourage innovation, not speculation. If
an inventor cannot disclose at least one specific, substantial, and credible utility for a
claimed invention, he is not ready to file a patent application. Cf. Glass, 492 F.2d at
1232, 181 USPQ at 34 (“It is an applicant’s obligation to supply enabling disclosure
without reliance on what others may publish after he has filed an application on what is
supposed to be a completed invention. If he cannot supply enabling information, he is
not yet in a position to file.”).
In the words of the Supreme Court, “what now seems without ‘use’ may
tomorrow command the grateful attention of the public. But a patent is not a hunting
license. It is not a reward for the search, but compensation for it successful conclusion.”
Brenner v. Manson, 383 U.S. 519, 536, 148 USPQ 689, 696 (1966).
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