35 U.S.C. 102(a) states that:
"A person shall be entitled to a patent unless--
(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention" (emphasis added).
Note that a single sale, or a single offer to sell, is sufficient to invoke this provision (see Intel Corp. v. U.S. Int'l Trade Comm'n, 946 F.2d 821, 830 (Fed. Cir. 1991) (Note: this a Pre-AIA case).
However, an exception to this is spelled out in 35 U.S.C. 102(b):
"A disclosure made 1 year or less before the effective filing date of a claimed invention shall not be prior art to the claimed invention under subsection (a)(1) if--
(A) the disclosure was made by the inventor or joint inventor or by another who obtained the subject matter disclosed directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor"
Thus, if the sale or offer to sell was made by the inventor, or by a joint inventor, or by someone who obtained the subject matter from the inventor or from a joint inventor, that will start a 1 year clock. A patent application for that invention has to be filed within that 1 year. If a patent application for that invention is filed after than 1 year period, it will be statutorily barred (i.e., nobody will be able to obtain a patent on it).
"A person shall be entitled to a patent unless--
(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention" (emphasis added).
Note that a single sale, or a single offer to sell, is sufficient to invoke this provision (see Intel Corp. v. U.S. Int'l Trade Comm'n, 946 F.2d 821, 830 (Fed. Cir. 1991) (Note: this a Pre-AIA case).
However, an exception to this is spelled out in 35 U.S.C. 102(b):
"A disclosure made 1 year or less before the effective filing date of a claimed invention shall not be prior art to the claimed invention under subsection (a)(1) if--
(A) the disclosure was made by the inventor or joint inventor or by another who obtained the subject matter disclosed directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor"
Thus, if the sale or offer to sell was made by the inventor, or by a joint inventor, or by someone who obtained the subject matter from the inventor or from a joint inventor, that will start a 1 year clock. A patent application for that invention has to be filed within that 1 year. If a patent application for that invention is filed after than 1 year period, it will be statutorily barred (i.e., nobody will be able to obtain a patent on it).
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