Patent guide for miniaturists

Inventors who are mystified by the concepts of "nonobviousness" and "enablement" may be surprised to find that the two concepts have a simple explanation in information theory. Viewing an invention as a low-probability, high-information event helps explain why an invention that appears inventive (nonobvious) to an inventor may appear obvious to a patent examiner, and suggests some strategies for overcoming the examiner's bias. Viewing enablement as a means of increasing the probability that a claimed invention can be practiced successfully helps in understanding how to support a broad claim effectively by virtual or "paper" patenting. The notion of entropy, or mean information content, as applied to inventions, may guide inventors in their search for new inventions.