Penny first marketed her automatic backscratcher to the public 30 months ago,and has been tinkering with its design ever since.Deciding that the original design was as good as it was going to get,she took it to a patent lawyer last week.He told her that,under the Patent Act,she will not be able to patent it because she has left it too late.
-He would not have said that if Penny had approached him two months after she first started marketing it.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Under patent law, an invention must be novel and not publicly disclosed for more than a year before filing for a patent. Since Penny marketed her invention 30 months ago, she exceeded the 12-month grace period, making it ineligible for patenting. If she had approached the lawyer two months after marketing, she would still be within the grace period.

Penny First Marketed Her Automatic Backscratcher to the Public 30