# Inventor

The person (or persons) who conceived the claimed invention. Inventorship is a legal concept distinct from contribution to a project — someone who merely built what was designed, or who had a general idea that was made more specific by someone else, may not qualify as an inventor. Incorrectly listing inventors can invalidate a patent.

**Full entry:** https://patentbrief.org/glossary/inventor

**All patent terms:** https://patentbrief.org/glossary

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_Source: PatentBrief — https://patentbrief.org. A plain-English glossary of US patent terms._