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by tclAmockingbird 3386 days ago
> The 'best mode' is not a requirement for a patent at all, you either have something patentable, or you do not

Disclosing the best mode in the specification of an application is a requirement, pre-AIA and now: see MPEP 2165.

1 comments

That has a critical and hard to prove caveat: that at the time of the filing it was known what that 'best mode' was. And since parameters (such as the ones under discussion) are subject to change that could be very difficult, it involves the 'state of mind of the inventor at the time of filing'.

So, since 2012 this is now a requirement.

I've found two examples of this successfully used in litigation, they are referenced here:

https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s2165.html

Bottom of the page, neither of those come close to Google not disclosing certain parameters.

> So, since 2012 this is now a requirement.

It was a requirement before the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, which is what is meant by "pre-AIA". You stated that "'best mode' is not a requirement for a patent at all" which was incorrect pre-AIA and remains incorrect in the AIA era. Disclosure of best mode remains a statutory requirement, even though it now lacks enforcement.

Your citation is of MPEP 2165, which is what I had referenced earlier. Thank you for sharing a direct link for others to review.