First to file and first to invent: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:49, 19 February 2007

Revision as of 07:41, 9 March 2007

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Who is entitled to the patent on the mousetrap? Tom is, because he conceived of the mousetrap before Jerry and worked diligently to reduce it to practice.<ref>http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/documents/0700_715_07.htm#sect715.07</ref>. The USPTO would institute an interference proceeding between Tom and Jerry to review evidence of conception and diligence.

As a further extension of this example, assume Tweedy conceived of the same mousetrap on December 31, 1990. Tweedy never told anyone about the mousetrap and did not work on reducing the mousetrap to practice for many years due to financial reasons. Tweedy finally reduces the mousetrap to practice on February 15, 2006. Is Tweedy entitled to the patent because he conceived of the mousetrap before Tom and Jerry? No, Tweedy did not diligently work to reduce the invention to practice, so he is not entitled to a patent over Tom or Jerry. <ref>http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/documents/0700_715_07_a.htm#sect715.07a</ref> This is one of many reasons why patent attorneys adviceadvise clients to file patent applications as soon as possible.

== Comparison ==