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Re:The Surprising Story of the First Microprocessors (2016) by analog31 on Friday September 17, 2021 @05:03PM (#28570864)
As I understand it the patent is only valid if it shows that the idea can be reduced to practice.
Re:The Surprising Story of the First Microprocessors (2016) by pacificmint on Friday September 17, 2021 @06:38PM (#28571682)
Someone got a patent for a warp drive [1], so I don't think being actually possible is a requirement for patents.

[1] https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2001057881A1/en

Re:The Surprising Story of the First Microprocessors (2016) by Rochus on Friday September 17, 2021 @05:47PM (#28571266)
No. It must be novel, non-obvious and "useful", which obviously was considered to be fulfilled by the patent office. The patent describes how the invention can be used instead of tubes.
Re:The Surprising Story of the First Microprocessors (2016) by analog31 on Friday September 17, 2021 @06:15PM (#28571513)
Doesn't there need to be a preferred embodiment? Not debating, just curious.
Re:The Surprising Story of the First Microprocessors (2016) by Rochus on Friday September 17, 2021 @06:36PM (#28571670)
I have not studied the content of the patent, but the "Cited by" list includes the Who's Who of the industry; so the invention is apparently relevant.