OK, what I wrote wasn't quite true. The information needs to be published in a way that it is sufficiently accessible to those interested in the art. It needs t

OK, what I wrote wasn't quite true. The information needs to be published in a way that it is sufficiently accessible to those interested in the art. It needs to be available to the public and indexed somehow. The standard is very low though. If it's on the internet and can be found by a search query for the topic, that's probably sufficient. First-to-file resolves priority when it comes to undisclosed inventions. Two inventors A and B both invent some new invention and both go to patent it. Whoever is first wins. Two inventors come up with the same invention all the time. The first-to-file rule makes it easier to resolve conflicts than examining evidence of who invented first, and it encourages speedy filing by preventing an inventor from secretly exploiting an invention and then filing when another inventor appears. By the way, anyone can look at the published patent applications (which are published usually 18 months after filing) and can submit information that they believe would be relevant to the examiner in determining if the invention is patentable. It's called a Pre-issuance Submission. [0] [0] http://www.klemchuk.com/339-preissuance-patent-submissions-a-new-way-to-participate-in-patent-prosecution/ http://www.klemchuk.com/339-preissuance-patent-submissions-a....