What is the grace period inventor-originated disclosure exception?

This page is an FAQ based on guidance from the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. It is provided as guidance, with links to the ground truth sources. This is information only: it is not legal advice.

The grace period inventor-originated disclosure exception is a provision in the America Invents Act (AIA) that allows certain disclosures made by inventors to be excluded as prior art. According to MPEP 2153.01(a):

“AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(1)(A) first provides that a disclosure which would otherwise qualify as prior art under AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) is excepted as prior art if the disclosure is made: (1) one year or less before the effective filing date of the claimed invention; and (2) by the inventor or a joint inventor or by another who obtained the subject matter disclosed directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor (i.e., an inventor-originated disclosure).”

This exception allows inventors to disclose their inventions up to one year before filing a patent application without those disclosures being used as prior art against their own applications.