Decided on November 19, 2010, In re Ceccarelli concerns the on sale bar to patentability.[i] According to 35 U.S.C. §102(b), which states that “[a] person shall be entitled to a patent unless…the invention was… in public use or on sale in this country, more than one year prior to the date of the application for patent in the United States” (emphasis added), had Ceccarelli commercially sold his invention more than one year prior to his patent filing date, he would be barred from registering the patent.[ii] Read the remainder of this entry »
On-Sale Bar Archive
Patent Held Unenforceable Due to Company President’s Conduct
By Dominic A. Frisina JD, MA | Filed in Fraud on the Patent Office, On-Sale Bar, PatentThe Federal Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling in Avid Identification Systems, Inc. v. Crystal Import Corp. on April 27, 2010 that serves as a reminder to all of the importance of absolute honesty with the US Patent and Trademark Office. In their opinion the Court held Avid Identification System, Inc.’s patent (US Pat. No. 5,235,326) valid and infringed, but not enforceable because Avid’s president failed to disclose his demonstration of a precursor product at a tradeshow more than one year before the filing date. The Court reasoned that although the President is not among the inventors, the Rule 56 duty of candor and good faith extends to him because he was “substantively involved” with preparing the patent application. More specifically, his involvement included conceiving the invention, which he then turned over to his employees to reduce to practice, and being copied on communications regarding the invention.
