THE INTEL-4004 MICROPROCESSOR - WHAT CONSTITUTED INVENTION

This paper investigates the context for the development of one of the earliest microprocessors, the Intel 4004. It considers the contributio ns Intel employees, most notably Marcian E. ''Ted'' Hoff, Jr., and Fed erico Faggin, made and contributions other people made to this develop ment who are not generally known, most notably Tadashi Sasaki and Masa toshi Shima. The paper represents a case study of how corporate and na tional cultures affect technological development and of the many aspec ts of invention, including conceptualization, logical design, engineer ing, fabrication, capitalization, and marketing.