Professor Demchick's Blackboard

Dr. Demchick has been a college and university faculty member for many years. On these Blackboard Pages he does a little teaching. These pages are intended as general, introductory information. Compromises were made between including details in these pages and keeping the pages readable for a general audience. These pages are not intended as legal or other professional advice.

---

"POST OFFICE PATENT" MYTH

You may have heard of a "poor man’s patent" or a "post office patent." They are essentially myths. However, as with many such myths, there is a kernel of truth. However, a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.

THE MYTH: You can patent your invention by writing a description of the invention, and mailing the description to yourself.

THE KERNEL OF TRUTH: The United States is unusual in that it is a "first to invent" country. In almost every country except the United States, if two people (or groups) invent the same thing independently, the first to file a patent application "wins" the race. However, in the United States, the general rule is that if two (or groups) invent the same thing independently, the first to invent "wins" the race. There are important exceptions to this general rule. It is worth noting that what matters to an inventor is not whether the inventing occurred per se; what matters is the earliest provable date of the invention. If I actually invented something two months ago, but cannot prove I invented it before yesterday, then yesterday is the date that matters. The idea with the "post office patent" is that the description of the invention in a sealed, postmarked envelope will prove that you had invented on or before the postmark date.

THE PROBLEMS: There are major problems with depending on a "post office patent." One problem is that even irrefutable evidence that you conceived of an invention does not, by itself, have the same legal effect as filing a patent application. Another problem is that a description in a sealed envelope is not even close to irrefutable evidence. You could mail yourself an unsealed envelope. Long after receiving the envelope back, you could later insert and seal a description of an invention. That would create false "evidence" that you conceived of the invention on or before the postmark date. Since such evidence is easily faked, the evidence is weak.

So, what can you do to prove conception of an invention? For information on that topic, please contact Dr. Demchick at demchick@professorpatents.com. An e-mail message requesting that information can be generated by clicking here, if your computer system is configured appropriately.