To my knowledge, the art that a U.S. patent is based
on can date to as much as a year before the
patent was filed.
For example, the $50,000 bountyquest.com bounty on
#5,138,459 Electronic still video camera with direct
personal computer (PC) compatible digital format
output
requests art prior to Nov. 20, 1989 because the patent
was filed Nov. 20, 1990 (issued 9/11/1992). So,
even though the inventors filed the patent in 1990,
they could claim (and would need to prove) that they
actually invented the device up to a year before.
Thus, prior art in August 1990 may or may not be
useful to the bounty offerers. Prior art from
August 1989 however would bust the patent. (By the
way, this bounty runs out in a couple of days - 9/14
if anyone wants to go for it).
Be aware that I am not a patent attorney and this
message is not to be considered advice. However,
I have been researching/keeping a considerable amount
of prior art on wearable computers just as a matter
of being a professor in the field (and am considering
offering a service for prior art).
For those who are interested in patents, I highly
recommend "Patent It Yourself" by Pressman. For
those who are interested in the patent system, ways it
is broken, and pathological patent examples, Greg
Aharonian runs a list called patnews which is quite
amusing (also check out his www.bustpatents.com).
Inventors: Be wary of the "let us
help you sell/develop your invention" firms of
late night TV fame. Some of them have been brought
up on fraud charges. Also, get recommendations for
specific patent attorneys, not just firms. The
quality of patent assistance varies greatly even in
the most reputable of firms.
Thad Starner
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