intellectual-property, patentI have developed an algorithm/software that does a specific task. I want to let the algorithm compete in an academic competition, where the code is run on a password protected server on a secret test set by another researcher. I will describe my research vaguely in the few lines that each researcher must submit about their work to be able to compete.
Will any of this destroy my chances of acquiring a patent for the algorithm afterwards?
“Destroy” is a tough word. But then again, so is “chances.”
This would probably qualify as a public disclosure, yes. There’s a famous landmark case in which a man invented a new fastener, I believe it was, for a garter, then gave it to his female neighbor to try out. She wore it as she generally would for a year, then he decided to get it patented. The patent office decided that, even though nobody actually saw it on her, that qualified as a public disclosure because it was being used as if it was already released.
That said, the USPTO grants you a one-year grace period to file patents. So you could probably get away with it, although I certainly wouldn’t advise taking the risk. Note, of course, that if you did decide to go for that, you’d probably be exempt from any ability to get an international patent, where that grace period is not given.
Long story short, if you really care about getting the patent (that is, if you plan to build a business off of it), I would advise against the risk. But if you’d do it more for fun than anything, you could probably still get a US patent out of it if you filed within a year.
Your best bet would probably be to file a provisional application, which is a cheap alternative that gives you an early filing date. It’ll be more expensive long-run (since you still need a non-provisional), but that would last you one year, which could be enough to build up funds to file for the non-provisional. That would release you of most of the risk here, since you’d already have filed.
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