Maybe you have heard the quote “Everything has already been invented”?
This quote was, according to the legend, stated by Charles H. Duell who was the Commissioner of the US patent office in 1899. However, there is a belief that he didn’t say so, but it may be a similar quote stated already 1843 by another Patent Office Commissioner, Henry Ellsworth – so there might be some truth behind the quote….
Anyhow, in the year 1900, approximately 25000 patents were granted in the US, while 115 years later the granted rate was 300000 per annum (!). The number of patents has really exploded over the last 100 years, so stating that everything has already been invented today, will problably not be true either.
As a prolific inventor, whos main task is to find out innovative solutions to problems that might be patentable, you will however sometimes feel that;
“No, now I really can’t find anything new, I have made my last filing”.
However, if you are working in a creative environment, you will sooner or later find yourself in discussions with colleagues about new topics or new challenging problems that need to be solved, and from that, new ideas will pop up.
So don’t give up. The ideas will continue to come, you just need to show perceverance!