Submarine patent

Submarine patent is an informal legal term for a patent published long after the original application was filed. Like a submarine, it stays under water, i.e. unpublished, for long, then emerges, i.e. is granted and published, and surprises the whole market. This practice is generally only possible under the US patent law, and to a very limited extent since the US signed WTO's TRIPs agreements, making compulsory the publication of patent applications 18 months after their filing or priority date. Submarine patents are considered by many as a procedural lache (a delay in enforcing one's rights, which may cause the rights to be lost).

Related Topics:
Legal - Patent - Application - Submarine - US - WTO - TRIP

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