Category: Asia

Your company has just developed a new invention that it intends to unveil at your annual industry trade show. In advance of the show, your marketing department sends out a press release describing your new invention in detail and launches photos of your invention on your website. The problem is that your marketing department is not in sync with your intellectual property strategy and you never filed a patent application prior to these public disclosures. There is a great demand for your product and now your CEO wants you to seek patent protection in the U.S. and China. The problem is China, like many other non-U.S. countries, is an “absolute novelty” country and as such, requires a patent application to be on file before the invention is first publicly disclosed.  While certain countries, like the U.S., have a limited grace period, many do not. Thus, you should always make sure that your global patent strategy tracks your marketing efforts or you may forfeit your ability to seek foreign patent rights.