Imagination Vs. Innovation Vs. Patents

Turning something fictional into something real.

“What? A card for paying money?”This is how people might have reacted when they were first introduced to the concept of debit card in the utopian science fiction novel “Looking Backward From 2000 to 1887” by Edward Bellamy (Though it was called as a credit card in the novel). One may be wondering if this could be considered as prior art. Of course, any published information can act as prior art, however, this information did not stop inventor James R Johnson from obtaining a patent (US 3,152,901 A) when he filed a patent application for a credit card.

If any published information can act as prior art, how did the inventor manage to get a patent granted for a credit card on 13th October 1964?

The answer is very simple. The novel only disclosed the concept of using a cardboard card, instead of cash, for payment, but it did not explain the technical details behind the payment. Any technology disclosed in a science fiction work is a result of mere imagination of the author, and not a result of a scientific research or experiment. Unless an artwork gives a substantial information of a technology, it will not be considered as prior art against a scientific invention.

INSPIRING INNOVATION