How does the “ready for patenting” requirement affect the on-sale bar?

The “ready for patenting” requirement is the second prong of the Pfaff test for determining if an invention was “on sale” for the purposes of the on-sale bar. According to MPEP 2133.03(b), an invention is “ready for patenting” when either:

1. The invention is reduced to practice; or
2. The inventor has prepared drawings or other descriptions of the invention sufficient to enable a person skilled in the art to practice the invention.

This requirement ensures that the invention was sufficiently developed at the time of the offer for sale. It prevents inventors from claiming the on-sale bar doesn’t apply because the invention wasn’t complete, even if they were commercially exploiting the concept.

To learn more:

• ready for patenting
• on sale bar
• reduced to practice
• enabling disclosure