Legal Definitions - one-year rule

The one-year rule in patent law establishes a critical deadline for inventors. It mandates that a patent application for an invention must be filed within one year of certain public disclosures or commercial activities related to that invention. If an inventor fails to file their patent application within this one-year period, they lose the right to obtain a patent for that invention.

This rule is designed to encourage inventors to promptly seek patent protection and to prevent them from indefinitely delaying the patenting process after making their invention available to the public. The one-year clock starts ticking from the earliest date the invention was:

• Publicly used
• Sold or offered for sale
• Described in a public publication

Here are some examples illustrating the one-year rule:

• Public Use Example: Imagine an inventor, Sarah, develops a revolutionary new type of self-cleaning water bottle. To gather feedback, she gives prototypes to friends and family, who then use them openly in public places like gyms, offices, and parks, discussing the features with others. This public use of the invention starts the one-year clock. Sarah must file her patent application for the self-cleaning water bottle within one year from the date the bottle was first publicly used, or she will be barred from patenting it.

• Offer for Sale Example: Consider a small tech company, "InnovateCo," that invents a unique software algorithm for optimizing solar panel efficiency. Before finalizing their product, they launch a marketing campaign offering early bird discounts and taking pre-orders for their "SolarBoost" software. Even though the software hasn't been fully released or delivered, this offer for sale triggers the one-year rule. InnovateCo must submit its patent application for the algorithm within one year of making that initial offer to sell, or they will forfeit their patent rights.

• Publication Example: Dr. Chen, a biomedical researcher, discovers a novel method for rapidly diagnosing a specific disease. She publishes her findings, including detailed descriptions of her diagnostic method, in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. This publication makes the invention publicly known. Under the one-year rule, Dr. Chen must file a patent application for her diagnostic method within one year of the journal's publication date. If she waits longer, the information is considered "prior art" that she herself disclosed, and she will be unable to secure a patent for it.