When does our technology become publicly know and not patentable?

質問

We are considering applying for a patent. If I understand it correctly though, a patent application is defeated once the technology the patent is supposed to cover is publicly known. Is this correct? In any case, how "public" can we be about our product without defeating patentability? While we are certainly not planning to share our IP publicly, should we secure a patent before talking to -- for example -- investors/VCs?

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回答: 3 public & 3 非公開

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ビジネスコンサルタント

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.

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