Many companies have already publicly disclosed parts of an invention by the time someone thinks to ask whether it should be patented. Product launches, investor pitches, podcast appearances, technical blog posts, public GitHub repositories, conference talks, and early customer pilots are all normal parts of building and commercializing technology — and any of them can count as a public disclosure under patent law.
In most countries, that ends the patent conversation. In the United States, however, federal patent law gives inventors a 12-month grace period to file after their own public disclosure, codified at 35 USC 102(b)(1).
This guide explains what can start the clock and what to do if your invention has already been disclosed.
What is the US one-year patent grace period?
In many jurisdictions, publicly disclosing an invention before filing a patent application can prevent you from patenting it. The United States provides an important exception: inventors generally have up to 12 months after certain disclosures to file a US patent application.
The most common situation is when you or someone working with you publicly discloses the invention before you file. For example, you might demonstrate the technology at a conference, publish a technical article, release the product publicly, or explain how it works in a video. That disclosure may start a 12-month window in which you can still file a US patent application.
That said, the grace period is a safety net, not a recommended filing strategy. Waiting can create additional risks, including disclosures by competitors and the loss of patent rights outside the United States.
What can count as a public disclosure?
A disclosure can take many forms. The key question is whether information about the invention became available outside the company in a way that could reveal the technology to the public.
For software, hardware, and other technical companies, common examples include:
- Demo days and pitch competitions: A high-level market pitch may not reveal the invention, but a detailed demonstration of how the system works might.
- Conference presentations, posters, and technical talks: This includes academic conferences, industry events, meetups, and developer presentations.
- Published materials: Academic papers, preprints, blog posts, white papers, technical documentation, and public code repositories can all matter. See also our guide on how academic publications affect your startup's patent rights.
- Press coverage and public statements: A launch announcement that says only what a product does may be less significant than an article explaining how it works.
- Public product releases: Product Hunt launches, app-store releases, open betas, and publicly accessible software can expose features or technical behavior.
- Podcasts and videos: An interview or demonstration can count when it explains the technical approach in meaningful detail.
- Sales and commercial offers: Paid pilots, beta agreements, and offers to sell a product that uses the invention can create patent issues even before a broad public launch.
Confidential conversations are usually different — internal discussions and disclosures covered by a meaningful confidentiality obligation generally are not public disclosures. But do not assume every investor, customer, or partner conversation is confidential: many investors will not sign NDAs, and the specific agreement and circumstances matter.
Can a confidential sale start the patent clock?
Yes. A sale or offer for sale can create a patent deadline even when the transaction itself is confidential. The Supreme Court confirmed this in Helsinn v. Teva, which is why commercial activity deserves separate attention from ordinary public disclosures.
For technical companies, this most often comes up with paid pilots, design-partner agreements, preorders, and early customer contracts. If the product being sold already includes the invention, the relevant date may be the commercial agreement, not the later public launch.
The details matter, so not every pilot or contract produces the same result. The practical rule is simpler: once a company begins selling or offering a product that uses the invention, the filing decision becomes urgent.
Already disclosed your invention?
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Get started →Does the US grace period preserve foreign patent rights?
Usually not. The United States is more forgiving than many other patent systems. In much of the world, publicly disclosing an invention before filing can immediately eliminate the ability to patent what was disclosed altogether.
Europe is the most important example for many US companies. The European Patent Office generally requires filing before public disclosure, with only narrow exceptions that do not cover an ordinary product launch, conference talk, or publication.
Other countries have their own rules. Some provide limited six- or 12-month grace periods, while others follow a stricter approach. The availability and requirements of any exception vary by country.
The practical takeaway is that the US grace period is not a global grace period. A company may still be able to file in the United States after a disclosure while having already lost rights in Europe, China, or other markets.
That does not always make a US filing pointless. The United States may still be the company's most important market. But if international protection could matter, the disclosure should trigger an immediate review of where rights may still be available.
What if someone else discloses a similar invention?
The grace period mainly protects you from your own earlier disclosure. It does not give you a 12-month period in which later publications and competitor activity can simply be ignored.
If you publicly disclosed the invention first, a later third-party disclosure of the same subject matter may not count against you if you can prove it was derived from your disclosure. But when another party independently publishes related technology, differences between the two disclosures can become important and may limit what you can claim.
For example, suppose your team demonstrates an invention in January and waits until December to file. If a competitor publishes a more detailed or somewhat different approach in June, that material may complicate the later application even though your own January disclosure is within the grace period.
The safest practical approach is to file early, not near the end of the 12-month window. Delay gives more time for new publications, products, and patent filings to affect the scope of protection available. For a broader framework on when to act, see our guide on patent strategy for early-stage startups.
How soon should you file after a disclosure?
The legal window may be 12 months, but waiting can still weaken the eventual application. New products, publications, and patent filings may appear during that period and limit how broadly the company can claim the invention.
Once a potentially important invention has been disclosed, the company should evaluate it promptly and, if filing makes sense, move within weeks or a few months rather than treating the full year as a target.
One practical option for moving quickly is a provisional patent application, which locks in a priority date at lower cost while giving you 12 months to file the full non-provisional. This can be especially useful when a disclosure has already occurred and the clock is running. If you're also considering fundraising timing, see whether to file before raising a seed round.
Patentext helps teams capture potential inventions, record relevant disclosure dates, evaluate which opportunities are worth pursuing, and maintain visibility into approaching deadlines. When a company decides to file, Patentext Services can take the selected invention from a structured disclosure through professional drafting and filing.
What if the 12-month window has already passed?
If the first relevant disclosure occurred more than 12 months ago and no US patent application was filed, US patent protection for the disclosed subject matter is usually no longer available. There is generally no extension simply because the company did not realize the disclosure had started a deadline.
That does not always mean every patent opportunity is gone. Two questions are still worth examining:
Did the disclosure reveal the whole invention?
A public announcement may have shown what the product does without revealing the underlying technical implementation. Patent protection may still be possible for details that were not actually disclosed, depending on the facts and the available prior art.
Has the technology changed since then?
Later improvements, new features, and new technical approaches may have their own filing timelines. If an earlier application is already pending, additional filing options may also exist, but they require careful analysis.
The first step is to reconstruct the timeline: what was disclosed, when it happened, who received it, whether confidentiality applied, and which parts of the current invention were actually revealed.
Patentext provides an invention-to-patent workflow for identifying potential inventions, recording disclosure risks, evaluating filing decisions, and maintaining a clear view of the patent pipeline. For inventions selected for protection, Patentext Services provides professional drafting, filing, and prosecution support.
