Is there a grace period limitation for the AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(A) exception?
No, there is no grace period limitation for the AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(A) exception. The MPEP clearly states:
In other words, there is no grace period limitation to the applicability of the 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(A) exception.
This means that the exception can apply regardless of when the U.S. patent document was published or filed. The key factor is whether the subject matter in the document was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or joint inventor, not the timing of the disclosure.
This lack of a grace period limitation makes the AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(A) exception a powerful tool for inventors to protect their own work from being used as prior art against them, regardless of when it was disclosed by another who obtained the subject matter from them.
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