Exceptions to Lack of Novelty of Invention
Under the patent system, inventors are granted exclusive rights in exchange for disclosing new technologies to the public. Therefore, in order to obtain a patent, in principle the subject must be a “novel invention” which has not been known to anyone yet. Whether an invention is novel or not shall be determined at the time when the patent application for the said invention is filed. Therefore, even if an invention is published in the morning and a patent application for the said invention is filed in the afternoon of the same day, its novelty will be lost.
However, sometimes it may be unavoidable to publish an invention, for example, when the inventors present the invention at academic conferences or disclose it to investors for the purpose of financing. Furthermore, there is a possibility that the invention may be made known to a third party against the inventor’s will. Hence, applying the above principle too strictly may be too severe for the inventors, and may in the long run inhibit the development of the industry.
Considering the above, the Patent Act has adopted a provision of Exception to Lack of Novelty by which a certain invention having lost novelty before filing shall be exceptionally treated as one which has not lost novelty.
However, it should be noted that there are certain requirements for this exceptive clause to be applicable, for example, the application must be filed within one year after the occurrence of the event which caused the loss of novelty of the invention.
In light of the above, when new technologies or ideas come to your mind,
we recommend you consult with a patent attorney as soon as possible, before
making them known to the public.