united-states, legal, intellectual-property, patentI know that patents (at least certain types and under certain circumstances) have a 1-year grace period for filing them.
From a business perspective, is there benefit to having the patent filed ahead of time?
If it matters, it is a utility patent I would be considering.
Assume I’m fairly confident none of my competitors would have a similar system in place and publicized before the 1 year grace period for filing was over (which, as I understand it, would nullify my ability to file if they publicized a similar innovation before I filed).
The only benefit I see is that I would be able to say I was using a “patent pending” manufacturing process, but I don’t think my customer base would care all that much (though I suppose some markets might count that as an asset). But I’m wondering if I’m missing something.
Note: I’m not questioning the value of a patent or whether it will be useful in my case. Just the merits, from a business perspective, of filing before publicizing -vs- publicizing and waiting until sometime during the grace period to file, especially in a situation where there is little fear of competitors developing a similar system during the grace period.
ETA: I’m in the U.S.
In the United States, you’re right. There is a one-year grace period between a public disclosure and getting a patent. The main issue lies that that grace period ends at the border. If you want to expand out into a PCT or have patents in a number of nations, you’ll be out of luck. So if you’re content with your market here, you could wait, but as a general rule, particularly given the choice, you should opt for the more broad option.
If you’re tight on cash, you could always get a provisional application, which gives you the filing date for a significantly cheaper amount. It’ll only last one year, but then you’re in the same situation as you’d be by waiting for a non-provisional (what people generally think of when they think “patents”). And for what it’s worth, I know you say this probably doesn’t matter, but a provisional also does give you patent-pending status.
Beyond that, it’s important to remember that the USPTO currently works on a first-to-file basis. That means if someone else was to file for your patent, there’s a good chance that you wouldn’t be able to dispute it. And on top of that, by default, applications are kept secret for eighteen months. So even if that did happen, you likely wouldn’t learn about it for quite some time.
So personally, I would always suggest filing something (be it a provisional or a full-on non-provisional) before your public disclosure. But you can probably get away without doing it. I just don’t see any realistic reason to want to.
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