What is the grace period inventor-originated disclosure exception?
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.
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