6 replies to this topic

[Norm]

If an item had a patent filing date in 1946 and have a publication date in 1950,  would one expect to find it was available as early as 1946 or not until 1950?

Edited by Norm, 06 May 2015 - 03:36 PM.

[Mike Hosea]

Not sure what the practice was back then. Currently applications are published after a delay, but issuance almost always takes longer than that. Taking one of mine as an example, it was filed on December 1, 2000, published as an application on June 6, 2002, and granted on March 9, 2004. So you would have been able to get your hands on it 2.5 years after it was filed, 1.75 years before it was eventually granted.

Edited by Mike Hosea, 06 May 2015 - 10:27 PM.

[Norm]

Thanks.  I was wondering about the age of a Magnetix desk set.  So I guess they would be post 1950 at the earliest?

[Mike Hosea]

The patent number is issued when the patent is granted.  Prior to that the information is indexed by an application number.  I assume this practice is unchanged.  Consequently, if the product has the patent number inscribed on it, then the production date could be no earlier than the date the patent was granted.  Before that, they could have written "patent pending" without a number.

Edited by Mike Hosea, 07 May 2015 - 03:59 PM.

[Norm]

I didn't see a pat. no.  I just looked up the patent for Nagy Magnetix. Thanks for your help.

[Mike Hosea]

I wasn't sure why you inferred that 1950 would be the earliest production date unless you were looking at a patent number on the actual product you were trying to date.  If we're just talking theoretically, under current US rules I think you have 1 year after the invention is revealed to file, which, if the same rules were in place back then, would put the earliest embodiment at 1945.  If there was no grace period back then, then 1946.  The date the actual patent was granted would not be relevant.

[Norm]

1946 sounds like a reasonable date.  Thank you.