4 ms·
The US is first-to-invent, so invention date matters, not (necessarily/entirely) filing date. And this patent is a divisional application of a divisional appli
by roc 14y ago
The US is first-to-invent, so invention date matters, not (necessarily/entirely) filing date. And this patent is a divisional application of a divisional application off an original filing in 1996. So this filing is considered in the context of the state of the art of 1996.
- mtgx 14y agoUS if first-to-file since last year with the America Invents Act, aka the "patent reform".
- roc 14y agoThe first-to-file provisions (among others) don't actually go into effect until March 16th of this year. (The 16th being a Saturday, filings will have to be in by the 15th to be considered under first-to-invent.)
- tunesmith 14y agoBut then the patent expiration clock starts now, rather than from 1996? That seems so wrong. That would mean the patent backlog is actually working for the trolls.
- roc 14y agoNah, expiration is 20 years from the earliest priority date. So if they're claiming 1996, the patent will expire in 2016. The backlog used to be problematic along the lines you're thinking, but they adjusted the rules in 1995.