What is an inventor’s certificate and how does it relate to patent priority rights?

An inventor’s certificate is a form of intellectual property protection offered in some countries. It can form the basis for priority rights under certain conditions, as stated in 35 U.S.C. 119(d):

Applications for inventors’ certificates filed in a foreign country in which applicants have a right to apply, at their discretion, either for a patent or for an inventor’s certificate shall be treated in this country in the same manner and have the same effect for purpose of the right of priority under this section as applications for patents…

This means that if an applicant had the option to file for either a patent or an inventor’s certificate in the foreign country, they can claim priority based on the inventor’s certificate application in the United States.

To learn more:

• inventor’s certificate
• patent priority
• foreign priority
• intellectual property