einen glücklichen Griff

10:50 Jan 26, 2011 

is the wording regularly found in numerous US, EP and PCT patent applications, although the only documents I can find are either translations of DE patents or written in English by German applicants/inventors.

special choice (since a certain possibility, the result of which was unforeseeable, was chosen among a great number of possibilities, it is a patentable lucky choice)
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2010/0160416.html

special choice (if a certain possibility, the result of which was unforeseeable, is chosen among a great number of possibilities, that is a patentable lucky choice)
http://www.sumobrain.com/patents/wipo/Biopsy-device-in-vivo-...
Therefore the specified magnesium alloy, among the large number of conceivable materials, represents an unexpectedly lucky choice.
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2004/0098108.html

Here is something else from an originally English-language US patent:
The selection of a specific virus for tumor regression was based on serendipity or trial and error in the above citations.
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2008/0057037.html

01:52 Jan 26, 2011 

From my link #2:
But do these restrictions make any sense at all? Inventions traditionally arise from three sources- sweat and inspiration (as Edison supposedly remarked "Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration."), and serendipity. The patent office and courts seem fixated on the sweat part- the romantic vision of a lone inventor tinkering way for years, gradually perfecting their great invention.

Indeed this view often reflects reality, and should be rewarded with a patent if the idea is truly novel and useful. But it is the idea that is being rewarded, not the sweat and tears or long sequence of physical prototypes. Mere hard work is not an excuse to grant a patent.

Serendipity (often very little sweat, but lots of luck and a prepared mind) can lead to remarkable inventions. Famously, stainless steel was discovered accidentally while trying to develop a better gun barrel, after noticing one steel alloy proved resistant to etching for microscopic examination. Viagra’s effect on sexual potency was an inadvertent side effect of testing a new cardiac drug. This is not so much invention as inevitable discovery- but we still grant a patent if the idea is new ..

01:09 Jan 26, 2011 

The "serendipity" references are completely dazzling, but sorry, they are the proverbial red herring. This is not a case of blind luck, but that odd mixture of skill and instinct that makes things come out right; "glücklich" is indeed a cognate of "gelingen". "Etwas glückt ihr" means she pulls it off, with skill and effort. The word "Griff" alone would tell you that the choice is far from blind. The sure-handed are frequently fortunate, and rarely gamblers.