[maratd]

> If you release the invention as a product, and someone files for the patent after you released it, that is a clear prior art case, and they should lose the patent.

Releasing a product does not constitute prior art. The invention must be documented and you must explain its use, in a public forum. Today, most inventions play supporting roles in the background. They are rarely seen or heard or documented.

In our current system, you have some protections as you can demonstrate that you are indeed the first to invent by using your product as evidence and you can publish your work down the road, if it becomes an issue. In the new system, nobody cares. He who files first wins.

[cube13]

>In our current system, you have some protections as you can demonstrate that you are indeed the first to invent by using your product as evidence and you can publish your work down the road, if it becomes an issue. In the new system, nobody cares. He who files first wins.

You have protections only if you apply for a patent. You do not have those protections if you do not. That has not changed. The only thing that has changed is what is used to grant two similar patents that are submitted around the same time. In the current case, it's the nebulous "invention date". In the new system, it's whoever files first.