Posting on an Internet Server May Affect Your Patent Rights

摘要

The pressure in academia and research institutions to "publish or perish" may tempt some researchers to publish first and seek patent coverage later. United States patent law accommodates this urge by offering a grace period of one year after the first publication of an invention in which to file a patent application. When more than one year has passed, the grant of a patent is barred. This is known as the "printed publication bar," in reference to the wording of the statute: "A person shall be entitled to a patent unless ... the invention was... described in a printed publication ... more than one year prior to the date of the application for patent" (35U.S.C.§ 102(b)).