3 ms·

>"If you disclose your invention publicly and do not file an application within one year, you could be barred from receiving a patent on that exact invention."

>"If you disclose your invention publicly and do not file an application within one year, you could be barred from receiving a patent on that exact invention." Does this mean if I disclose an invention, that nobody can patent it after a year? This is my explicit reason for writing about BitGrid out in the open, since 2004.[1] If it turns out to be useful, that's awesome. If not, it's been a fun mud ball to polish.[2] [1] https://bitgrid.blogspot.com/2004/ https://bitgrid.blogspot.com/2004/ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorodango https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorodango

devnull3 2y ago
> Does this mean if I disclose an invention, that nobody can patent it after a year? Others can. But during their application who is going to tell that there is a prior art? Patent offices only do basic checks on existing patents and not on the wider internet. Once the others get their patent, you can appeal [1] it. [1] I am not sure its the right word
- jcranmer 2y ago
  > appeal [1] I am not sure its the right word You can challenge the patent at the USPTO to instigate an in partes review. You can also raise a defense of 'the patent is invalid' if the patent owner tries to sue you.
- Joel_Mckay 2y ago
  "prior art" is usually meaningless in a first-to-file country like the USA. i.e. if you disclose your IP publicly, there is zero protection from getting scooped by competitors and trolls. If you NDA more than 17 entities, than it becomes public domain in some countries. Patent-pending status is somewhat of a more economical tool, and buys time to entrench a manufacturing product line in a market. A fully complete patent is only useful for litigation and customs enforcement... and can't be revised to cover sleazy IP workarounds. We only won about 4 out of 7 international scope patents I drafted, so YMMV. =3
jeffreyrogers 2y ago
In theory you can't patent something that has already been described prior to the filing date. In practice I'm sure there's been things that've been patented that someone else independently invented beforehand. It's also not always clear if something is a new invention or not (e.g., some chemical has been known for a while but someone realized it could be used to treat some disease).

devnull3 2y ago

> Does this mean if I disclose an invention, that nobody can patent it after a year? Others can. But during their application who is going to tell that there is a prior art? Patent offices only do basic checks on existing patents and not on the wider internet. Once the others get their patent, you can appeal [1] it. [1] I am not sure its the right word

jcranmer 2y ago
> appeal [1] I am not sure its the right word You can challenge the patent at the USPTO to instigate an in partes review. You can also raise a defense of 'the patent is invalid' if the patent owner tries to sue you.
Joel_Mckay 2y ago
"prior art" is usually meaningless in a first-to-file country like the USA. i.e. if you disclose your IP publicly, there is zero protection from getting scooped by competitors and trolls. If you NDA more than 17 entities, than it becomes public domain in some countries. Patent-pending status is somewhat of a more economical tool, and buys time to entrench a manufacturing product line in a market. A fully complete patent is only useful for litigation and customs enforcement... and can't be revised to cover sleazy IP workarounds. We only won about 4 out of 7 international scope patents I drafted, so YMMV. =3

jeffreyrogers 2y ago

In theory you can't patent something that has already been described prior to the filing date. In practice I'm sure there's been things that've been patented that someone else independently invented beforehand. It's also not always clear if something is a new invention or not (e.g., some chemical has been known for a while but someone realized it could be used to treat some disease).