Legal Question in Intellectual Property in New York

Proof of prior knowledge.

Does a sealed letter to oneself which contains an assertion about a future event prove, in a court of law, following the occurrence of the event, that the writer had prior knowledge of it? EXAMPLE:

A contestant on a quiz show in the 1960's wrote himself a letter which contained the answers to the questions he would be asked on a future show. I don't know if the letter was submitted as evidence but there was a congressional investigation and the show's producers resigned. One of the contestants (Charles

Van Doren) was a professor at Columbia U. and was forced to resign. He claimed that the letter proved nothing. Another contestant who was told the answers in advance was Herb Stempfel of Queens, N.Y. This actually happened, and a movie titled ''Quiz Show'', was made about it. I'm interested in this question because I want to apply the same method to prove my future claim (should it be needed) of intellectual priority. In your answer please do not discuss other methods like the copyright process. I want the answer to the question as asked. Thanks in advance for your help.


Asked on 4/07/08, 8:29 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Nancy Delain Delain Law Office, PLLC

Re: Proof of prior knowledge.

The "poor man's patent" provides no protection whatsoever to the person who would claim priority in an invention. You can file your invention with the USPTO for $100 (a "provisional patent"); THAT establishes a priority date. BEWARE: PROVISIONAL PATENTS EXPIRE AFTER ONE YEAR, and you cannot claim priority to an expired provisional patent. Thus, if you want a patent to issue and you need to claim the benefit of the provisional application's filing date, you MUST file a nonprovisional application for patent within one year of filing your provisional application. One year and one day is too late.

THE INFORMATION PRESENTED HERE IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND IS NOT INTENDED, NOR SHOULD IT BE CONSTRUED, AS LEGAL ADVICE. THIS POSTING DOES NOT CREATE ANY ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN US. FOR SPECIFIC ADVICE ABOUT YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION, CONSULT YOUR ATTORNEY.

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Answered on 4/07/08, 9:34 pm


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