Law - Described in Published U.S. Patent Application
Under U.S. patent law, an invention claimed in a U.S. patent application filed on or after November 29, 2000, or an application which has been voluntarily published by the USPTO lacks novelty if the claimed invention was described in a published U.S. patent application by another that was filed in the U.S. prior to the date it was invented by the applicant for a patent. [35 U.S.C. 102(e)]. If an international (PCT) patent application designating the U.S. is published in the English language, that publication has the same effect as publication of the application by the USPTO.
Because the applicant's(s') filing date is initially presumed to be the date of invention, a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(e) may be overcome by proving a date of invention earlier than the filing date of the reference. However, the date of invention can only be carried back one year before the earliest U.S. filing date. A rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(e) may also be overcome by proving that the invention described in the reference was not invented by "another," i.e., that the invention was invented by the same inventive entity as the current applicant(s).
Law - Described in Published U.S. Patent Application