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Apply for patent 12 months since first release to public

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DesignerV

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
California

We have designed a product and we are going to show its design + innovations in a crowdfunding campaign(Indiegogo or Kickstarter).
We are not in US yet, but we are planning to sell the product in US if the campaign succeeds.
We have heard that we can show a product to the public and apply for a patent until 1 year after the first demonstration.

What proofs can we use for the date of the first release? We are planning to show the product (create website & video ) before the campaign in order to communicate to promoters.
We are planning to use 3d models in the website and 3d models + real concept in the video.
 


FlyingRon

Senior Member
I don't know where you were told that, but you were told wroing. If you show your invention to the public without a patent application filed, your invention will no longer be considered NOVEL and thus it can NEVER, EVER be patented.

What you may be misunderstanding is this. You can (prior to disclosing it to anybody) file a provisional patent application. Once that is in place, you can market your product and retain patentability PROVIDED that you follow up with a NON-PROVISIONAL patent application within the year. Again, failure to file a non-provisional application within the year will result in your invention being determined to not meet the novelty requiremeent (you're actually in worse state beccause the details of your invention will have been disclosed publicly in the provisional application).

Further, it matters not the date you release it in the US. If you release it ANYWHERE you have lost the novelty requirement if you don't have a provisional patent in place.

Since you appear to not be in the US, understand that other countries have different laws and you may not even have the option of the provisional or pending application there. If you have patent protection in that country, chances are that you will derive patent rights in the US under international treaty. It's hard to tell, because we don't know what country you're in and we really don't cover foreign country's laws here (though we might be able to steer your to a site covering your country).
 

quincy

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
California

We have designed a product and we are going to show its design + innovations in a crowdfunding campaign(Indiegogo or Kickstarter).
We are not in US yet, but we are planning to sell the product in US if the campaign succeeds.
We have heard that we can show a product to the public and apply for a patent until 1 year after the first demonstration.

What proofs can we use for the date of the first release? We are planning to show the product (create website & video ) before the campaign in order to communicate to promoters.
We are planning to use 3d models in the website and 3d models + real concept in the video.
You should apply for a provisional patent prior to showing your product to the public.

The only requirement for the provisional patent application (PPA) is that the invention's description must include adequate "how to make" and "how to use" instructions. Within one year of filing the PPA, a formal patent application must be filed - but the inventor is able to take advantage of the earlier PPA filing date.

Edit: FlyingRon beat me to it. :)
 

quincy

Senior Member
For more information on US patent laws, and filing a PPA, here is a link to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO):

http://www.uspto.gov

And here is a link to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for information on patent laws in other countries:

http://www.wipo.int
 
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