Disclosure: When Can It Invalidate A Patent?

Can a prior disclosure of an invention be fatal to a patent? And if so, what constitutes "disclosure" of the invention.

One of the central pillars of patentability is "novelty" - the invention must be new, the first of its kind in the world. If it's not new, the patent application will fail or (if discovered after the patent has issued) the patent itself can be invalidated. Wenzel Downhole Tools Ltd. v. National-Oilwell Canada Ltd., 2011 FC 1323 (CanLII) is an interesting judgement dealing with a device that was manufactured...

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