When does our technology become publicly know and not patentable?

Hi Thomas

Usually you do not need to give away the details of the secret sauce in a VC pitch. In fact, usually they are not particularly interested in exactly how you do what you do, they are more interested in what the market pain is that you address and how you address it. Publically known means used, disclosed in public, published in a document, etc. In some countries, such as US, Australia and Japan, they have a grace period of ranging from 6 months (japan) to 12 months (US and AU) prior to your patent filing date, where you can still get patent protection in those places if you disclosed your invention prior to filing. However, even if within the grace period in those places, you won't get valid protection in places like Europe where no such grace period exists.

Thomas,

What country are

The best rule of thumb to follow is to always file a patent application before you publicly disclose the invention to anyone outside of the inventors or the company the inventors work for - that way, there is never any issue concerning public disclosure and the possible loss of patent rights. In fact, you are probably in a stronger position to consult with investors/VCs when you already have your patent application on file - that way they can in fact see and appreciate what has been filed and applied for, for a patent, and also, they themselves do not have to worry about any disclosure issues which could possibly negatively impact the ultimate value of the patent.