This paper presents the results of an international survey of how the different companies in the fields of chemistry and machinery deal with inventions and secret know-how before applying for a patent.
Since 1st January, 1996 anyone developing an invention within a WTO member state can submit evidence as proof of the date of his invention to the US Patent and Trademark Office. This requires, however, that the quality of evidence be in accordance with US requirements. Therefore non-US inventors needed to adapt their working procedures for documentation to the US style of documentation. As shown in this paper this is still not the case everywhere. Swiss and German companies need to make efforts to improve the current situation.
The practical significance of the Right to Continue Use Begun before Priority Date (known under different names in different first-to-file countries) to protect an inventor who has applied an invention in secret has been shown to be extremely slight.
The amount of electronic records is increasing fast in research and development laboratories. Although they are in principle admissible as evidence, the conclusiveness of such records is, in case of an interference or a litigation, still very unclear and is causing a great deal of concern in the field of intellectual property rights. A reliable and sound solution for fixing this unprecedented legal situation is much to be desired.
It could be shown that there is a synergistic relationship between IP policy, education, documentation and the acceptance of the directives issued by the IP department.
SUGGESTED CITATION:
Roland Dux,
"Documentation of Inventions and Secret Know-How prior to Patent Filing: An International Company Survey"
(2001).
MAS in IP Diploma Papers.
Working Paper 10.
http://www.bepress.com/ndsip/papers/art10
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