Computer science development of sophisticated computing equipment. Wilhelm Schickard designed and constructed the first working mechanical calculator in 1623. In 1673, Gottfried Leibniz demonstrated a digital mechanical calculator, called the Stepped Reckoner. He may be considered the first computer scientist and information theorist, for, among other reasons, documenting the binary number system. In 1820, Thomas de Colmar launched the mechanical calculator industry when he released his simplified arithmometer, which was the first calculating machine strong enough and reliable enough to be used daily in an office environment. Charles Babbage started the design of the first "automatic mechanical calculator", his Difference Engine, in
Inventor (patent) that a patent be issued in the name of the inventors is derived from the intellectual property clause of the United States Constitution: The Congress shall have power . . . To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries. (emphasis added) An inventor is a party who conceived (not just contributed to the reduction-to-practice) at least one claim to a patent. The courts explain that "[t]he threshold question" of inventorship is "who conceived the invention." Courts recognize that invention is rarely