Legal Opinion
Pfaff v. Wells Electronics, Inc.
Supreme Court of the United States
Decided December 14, 1998No. 97-1130PublishedCited by 343 opinions
1Opinion of the CourtJustice Stevens
Section 102(b) of the Patent Act of 1952 provides that no person is entitled to patent an “invention” that has been “on sale” more than one year before filing a patent application. We granted certiorari to determine whether the commercial marketing of a newly invented product may mark the beginning of the 1-year period even though the invention has not yet been reduced to practice.
rH
On April 19, 1982, petitioner, Wayne Pfaff, filed an application for a patent on a computer chip soeket. Therefore, April 19, 1981, constitutes the critical date for purposes of the on-sale bar of 35 TJ. S. C. §…
2Cases cited17 opinions
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3Cited by343 opinions
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