Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Texas
patent application
Can I file a patent for an item that I have been making and selling for 6-7 years?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: patent application
Probably too late; I think you only have a year or two in which to file and then only if you are the inventor.
Re: patent application
Here's the bad news, straight from the USPTO web site:
If the invention has been described in a printed publication anywhere in the world, or if it was known or used by others in this country before the date that the applicant made his/her invention, a patent cannot be obtained. If the invention has been described in a printed publication anywhere, or has been in public use or on sale in this country more than one year before the date on which an application for patent is filed in this country, a patent cannot be obtained. In this connection it is immaterial when the invention was made, or whether the printed publication or public use was by the inventor himself/herself or by someone else. If the inventor describes the invention in a printed publication or uses the invention publicly, or places it on sale, he/she must apply for a patent before one year has gone by, otherwise any right to a patent will be lost. The inventor must file on the date of public use or disclosure, however, in order to preserve patent rights in many foreign countries.
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