• Requires independent, original, conceptual contributions to an invention (i.e. to at least 1 claims of a patent).

• Conception is more than contemplating a desirable result or goal.  The inventor must have a “definite and permanent” idea of the invention such that it is susceptible to being reduced to practice without undue experimentation.

• To claim inventorship is to claim at least some role in the final conception of that which is sought to be patented.

• In addition to being inventive, a contribution to conception worthy of inventorship must be "not insignificant in quality" when compared to the dimension of the full invention.

• U.S. patent regulations require that only the true inventor(s) sign a patent application.

• To be a sole inventor, a person must be responsible for the conception of the invention as described in all the patent claims.

• If the claims are changed or dropped as a result of restriction or examination by the patent office, individuals listed as inventors on the original patent application may no longer be inventors of the revised claims.

• In the biotechnology field, it is generally established that the conception of a DNA or RNA molecule is not complete until the nucleotide sequence itself is known.

• The claims are the only part of a patent that defines the boundaries of the patent owner's rights, so the claims determine the inventorship.

• For PVP certification, conception is to all involved plant breeders.

• Plant patent inventorship is conferred to any person who contributed to either: 

1. discovery of a new and distinct plant and asexually reproduces the plant, or
2. subseqeunt to discovery by one person, a second person who asexually reproduced the plant and ascertained that the clone(s) of the plant were identical to the original plant in every  distinguishing characteristic.