I’m hammering home a petrifying patent pitfall that often hits inventors hard: the 12-month on-sale bar.

Let’s look to the sad tale of inventor Lawrence Pfaff and his failed patent for an electronic socket. He missed his application deadline by just 11 days after the first day he offered his invention for sale. Waiting for 12 months and 11 days after that initial on-sale date destroyed his ability to obtain any patent rights.

In the US, you have a one-year grace period from the date of your first public disclosure (selling, offering to sell, or publishing) to file your patent application. Missing that deadline means your potential patent rights become ghostly. You won’t be able to receive a patent, and that means you won’t be able to stop others from making or selling it.

Filing before public disclosure is the silver bullet to protect your invention. Using non-disclosure agreements, or NDAs, can help you keep your invention private until you’re ready to make it public and have legal remedies if anyone who signed it violates the terms.

Don't let your creative work or business become a ghost story. Intellectual property is one of the most terrifyingly useful tools you have. If you're a creator or other entrepreneur ready to build a frighteningly powerful brand, you need to know how to use it.

You don't have to face the darkness alone. To learn more about protecting your creations, your name, your business, and your legacy, you can book a consultation with me at kingpatentlaw.com.

I help entrepreneurs across the U.S. make smart, legally sound decisions about their intellectual property. I'm an attorney in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, and I serve intellectual property clients nationwide.

If this episode helped you survive the horror of learning about how to protect and manage your intellectual property and business, please like and subscribe!

You can find all of my other frighteningly good content on the King Patent Law website, at "Know Your Rights: Your IP and Business Law Playbook " on all major podcast platforms, and at @kingpatentlaw on most social media.

The information provided in this episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or form an attorney-client relationship. You should not act on any information presented here without first seeking the counsel of a licensed attorney for your specific legal needs.

#patent #intellectualproperty #kingpatentlaw #julieking #petrifyingpatents #horror #spookyseason #halloween