Guest Post by Profs. Masur & Ouellette: Public Use, Sales, and Public Disclosure Under the AIA
Patent – Patently-O 2026-11-02
Summary:
Guest post by Professors Jonathan S. Masur (UChicago Law) and Lisa Larrimore Ouellette (Stanford Law).
Imagine the following hypothetical scenarios:
Scenario 1:
- January 1, 2026: Aleida invents a new widget and gives it without a confidentiality restriction to Charlise, who uses the invention (thus creating a public use) but in a non-enabling way.
- February 1, 2026: Bruno independently invents the same widget and files for a patent on it.
- March 1, 2026: Aleida files for a patent on the widget.
Scenario 2:
- January 1, 2026: Aleida invents a new widget and offers the widget for sale to Charlise, but without any enabling disclosure. Charlise accepts the offer.
- February 1, 2026: Bruno independently invents the same widget and files for a patent on it.
- March 1, 2026: Aleida delivers the widget to Charlise and files for a patent on it.
Who do you think should receive the patent in each of these two scenarios? Maybe you think it should be Aleida in both cases, or Bruno in both cases, or Aleida in one and Bruno in the other.