35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) sets out a general proscription on patenting a claimed invention that was in "public use." The statute states:
"A person shall be entitled to a patent unless--
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).
Remember, the statutory authority for a patent system stemming from the U.S. Constitution states that its objective is "to promote....the useful arts." If someone were allowed to patent an invention that was already in public use, rather than promoting the useful arts, that might actually take away the invention that the public had already enjoyed. As one court noted, "[s]ociety, speaking through Congress and the courts, has said 'thou shalt not take it away'" (Kimberly-Clark Corp. v. Johnson & Johnson, 745 F.2d 1437, 1453-54 (Fed. Cir. 1984)).
"A person shall be entitled to a patent unless--
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).
Remember, the statutory authority for a patent system stemming from the U.S. Constitution states that its objective is "to promote....the useful arts." If someone were allowed to patent an invention that was already in public use, rather than promoting the useful arts, that might actually take away the invention that the public had already enjoyed. As one court noted, "[s]ociety, speaking through Congress and the courts, has said 'thou shalt not take it away'" (Kimberly-Clark Corp. v. Johnson & Johnson, 745 F.2d 1437, 1453-54 (Fed. Cir. 1984)).
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