Recent developments in the public use bar at the Federal Circuit

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Paul W Browning, paul.browning@finnegan.com, Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner, LLP, 901 NEW YORK AVENUE, N.W, Washington, DC 20001
Under United States law, you can lose all rights to your patented invention before you even file your patent application at the Patent and Trademark Office. Specifically, 35 U.S.C. 102(b) states that a person shall not be entitled to a patent if "the invention was . . . in public use or on sale in this country more than one year prior to the date of application for a patent in the United States." Recent decisions at the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit have further clarified the law concerning when an invention is "in public use" according to Section 102(b).