What is the purpose of the on-sale and public use provisions in patent law?
The primary purpose of the on-sale and public use provisions in 35 U.S.C. 102 is to prevent inventors from commercially exploiting their inventions for more than one year before filing a patent application. As stated in the MPEP:
“One policy of the on sale and public use provisions of 35 U.S.C. 102 is the prevention of inventors from exploiting their inventions commercially more than 1 year prior to the filing of a patent application.”
This means that inventors must be cautious about any commercial activities related to their invention in the year leading up to their patent application filing date.
To learn more:
Topics:
MPEP 2100 - Patentability,
MPEP 2133.03(E)(1) - Commercial Exploitation,
Patent Law,
Patent Procedure