In patent law. The act or operation of finding out something new; the process of contriving and producing some-thing not previously known or existing, by the exercise of independent investigation and experiment Also the article or contrlv-ance or composition so Invented. See Lei-dersdorf v. Flint, 15 Fed. Cas. 260; Smith v. Nichols, 21 wall. 118, 22 L. Ed. 566; Hol-lister v. Manufacturlng Co., 113 U. S. 72, 5 Sup. Ct 717, 28 L. Ed. 901; Murphy Mfg. Co. v. Excelsior Car Roof Co. (C. C.) 70 Fed. 495