Comment First to invent, First to file... (Score 1) 261
What about "only one to file"?
Patent applications are secret. What if, in the interval between submission and grant, another application is received covering the same invention, all overlapping claims are denied? The standard is supposed to be "not obvious to someone versed in the state of the art." If there are two submissions for the same thing in a short period of time, that proves that the state of the art is naturally evolving toward the scheme in the application.
The biggest problem would be the ability to ship products in that interval, which is currently practical.
The window could be more explicit, too: application date plus two months, for example.
The aforementioned practice is patent #9,763,348.
Patent applications are secret. What if, in the interval between submission and grant, another application is received covering the same invention, all overlapping claims are denied? The standard is supposed to be "not obvious to someone versed in the state of the art." If there are two submissions for the same thing in a short period of time, that proves that the state of the art is naturally evolving toward the scheme in the application.
The biggest problem would be the ability to ship products in that interval, which is currently practical.
The window could be more explicit, too: application date plus two months, for example.
The aforementioned practice is patent #9,763,348.
