Legal Question in Business Law in New York

Re: Can I safely use my invention publicly during patent process?

DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A PATENT ATTORNEY, NOT ADMITTED to PATENT BAR.

I advise you to RE-SUBMIT this question to the INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY category in the hope of eliciting a patent attorney's answer, or ask a patent attorney's opinion.

In trhe mean time, allow me to suggest that you do an Internet search on Title 35 of the U.S. Code, Section 102.

While I cannot advise on matters of patent law, since I am not a patent attorney, my copy of

Section 102 (for which I OFFER NO GUARANTEE of ACCURACY of TRANSCRIPTION, and for which I do

NOT OFFER any GUARANTEE that it is

UP-TO-DATE SEEMs too sate (in Section 102(a)), that nobody else can patent your invention AFTER you file your patent application UNLESS they had ALREADY themselves invented your own invention independently BEFORE you filed your patent application.

My copy of section 10-2(a) (for which, again, I OFFER NO GUARANTEE OF ACCURACY), states that nobody else can obtain a patent, when "the invention was KNOWN or used by others in this country, OR patented OR DESCRIBED in a PRINTED PUBLICATION [e.g., your filed patent application] in this or a foreign country, BEFORE the invention thereof by the applican gor patent", i.e., in this case, somebody other than yourself.

However, do not rely exclusively on my research, since I am not a patent lawyer, (and therefore I am prohibited from acting as a patent lawyer, nor on your own research:

Get a second opinion from a patent attorney admitted to the patent bar.

Re: Can I safely use my invention publicly during patent process?

With a disclaimer like Mr. Silverman's, it almost makes me nervous to answer. However, I am absolutely 100% positive that an attorney need only be licensed by the Patent Bar to practice before the USPTO in patent prosecution - not to represent clients in patent matters in federal court or to advise clients in patent law matters. I happen to be sure of this because two of the greatest patent litigators I know (the $800/hr kind) are not Patent Attorneys and not even eligible to take the patent bar exam (no science degrees). I am well versed in patent law, and I am qualified to answer as follows:

Your question makes some general conclusions which may not be legally correct. "Not patented" does not mean patentable. The date of first disclosure of your invention is important - disclosure in any manner which is not under confidentiality agreement or for limited research purposes, not just "publishing" - because this date begins to toll the statute of limitations for the time period after which you must file a patent application. You have only one year after first disclosure to file a patent application, after which time the invention is barred from patentability.

You are right to have concern that someone may steal your idea and may even seek their own patent protection for it. However, the US is a "first to invent", not a "first to file" country, meaning that if there is a dispute as to who is the proper patentee, the true inventor wins. The key is a DISPUTE exists (meaning litigation) and many other dates are important: conception, reduction to practice, and application filing date.

For further information, please:

1) Post further inquiries in the Intellectual Property section; a licensed Patent Attorney will answer you in that forum.

2) Schedule a consultation with a Patent Attorney in your area to protect your rights.

Best of luck.