Patent Attorney and Founder
So, if you have invented something and you publish it, meaning you have a blueprint of it, a quite detailed explanation of what the invention is, if it goes on the internet, right, to anywhere where someone like you could find it, that’s a publication. A published document publication. And so, that will start a one-year window. So, let’s say that blueprint had been published on January 1st, 2022. By January 1st, 2023, any publication information, the invention itself has been on the internet and available, will be ineligible for filing, right? It’s already a part of the public domain. So, that one-year rule is an absolute stickler, and if it’s been out there for that long or longer, you’re not going to be able to file a patent on it, okay? But certainly, you would have any rights that may be there with the artistic copyright privileges and the common law that applies there. Hopefully, it’s been less than a year, and if it hasn’t, get a hold of us. Click the link above. Let’s help you get protected if it’s been less than a year.