> They have potentially hit on a way to create energy from a previously unknown or ignored phenomenon, but just like you can't patent gravity, you can't patent this.
Not so fast. While you can't patent gravity, you can patent using gravity to do things (subject to novelty and obviousness).
That's how Feynmann ended up with a patent on nuclear submarines. You can't patent radioactivity or heating things with radioactivity, but you can patent using heat from radioactivity to do specific things.
Not so fast. While you can't patent gravity, you can patent using gravity to do things (subject to novelty and obviousness).
That's how Feynmann ended up with a patent on nuclear submarines. You can't patent radioactivity or heating things with radioactivity, but you can patent using heat from radioactivity to do specific things.