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THE NEW PATENT LAW 2011
As widely reported, fundamental changes have been made to the US Patent law. Perhaps the biggest change is that the US will begin awarding patents to the first inventor that files an application for patent. This change will go into effect in less than 18 months, i.e., March 16, 2013. Recall the current law is the first person to invent the invention is entitled to the patent. Now the inventor must be diligent and prompt in filing his/her application for patent. (Remember the cost and preparation advantages of filing a provisional patent application.)
Again, the owner of the patent on an invention will be the inventor that filed his/her application first. The patent application filing date has become a critical fact in determining ownership.
Of course the law has created some exception to add the required statutory complexity and confusion.
First an invention is patentable unless it was already patented or described in a printed publication or in public use or on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the patent application. These events create prior art.
Now the complexity. A disclosure will not be a prior art if the subject matter was obtained from the inventor not more than 1 year from the application filing date. A public sale during the 1 year grace period is exempted. However a confidential sale earlier than the 1 year grace period will be a prior art bar to patentability.
Note that any patent application filed must still meet the Section 112 requirements of enablement and best mode. The application must provide the detail to enable a person skilled in the art to practice the invention. Stated differently, you must still meet the statutory requirements for a valid application even though you are in a race to be the first to file.
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