What does 35 U.S.C. § 102(b)(1) state regarding disclosures made within one year of filing?

The provision under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b)(1) establishes that disclosures made by the inventor or a joint inventor within one year before the effective filing date of a patent application do not count as prior art against the inventor's own application. This one-year grace period allows inventors to disclose their invention publicly without jeopardizing their ability to secure a patent, provided that the disclosure was made by them.

This is particularly significant for inventors who may wish to showcase their invention at conferences, seek funding, or further develop their ideas before officially filing a patent application. By granting this grace period, the statute encourages transparency and innovation while still protecting the inventor's rights to patent their invention.

The other options do not align with the essence of this provision. Some suggest that disclosures by the inventor could be used as prior art or invalidate the application, which contradicts the protective intent of § 102(b)(1). Others imply there is a necessity to keep these disclosures secret, which again does not fit with the provision's allowance for inventor disclosures within a specified timeline.