Abandoning All Hope Of A Plain-Meaning Interpretation of 35 U.S.C. § 102(g): Reliance On Dicta Taken From Allen v. W.H. Brady Is Legal Error

The patent law also encourages public disclosure of inventions, at least in part because secret innovations are less likely to promote progress than those disclosed to the public. In this regard, U.S. patent law attenuates the legal effect of innovations that are not properly disclosed to the public. One such provision is codified at 35 U.S.C. § 102(g), which is an important, albeit seldom used, standard by which novelty is assessed.