First Inventor to File means Keep Quiet!

We have highlighted the patent process and new changes to it via the AIA (America Invents Act) and some of the effects it can have on small entities.   Though the patent process is evolving and complex there is one important thing that can be done by any inventor, big or small, and that is to keep your ideas quiet.

Now, given that we have transitioned to a First-Inventor-to-File (FItF) system like the rest of the world, along with other changes we won't detail here, silence truly has become golden.  The following article indicates that big things can come from simple things like an overheard conversation.  It involves the case of Dr. Warren Selman, who overheard a conversation between two Israel Air Force officers one day.

Granted, the outcome in this case was positive for those involved.  However, one need not think too hard to see that casual chatter about your idea can give others, who may not engage with you like Dr. Selman did in this case, the chance to develop the idea or at the very least a competitive idea by themselves simply by beating you to the patent office!

Overheard in a coffee shop: A better way to do brain surgery, based on Israeli simulation technology