Ensuring a Bountiful IP Yield From Plant Sales
"Patent rights are lost when an invention is placed in the public domain through commercial sale or public use. These bars to patentability have been a feature of the US patent system for nearly two centuries. In 2011, Congress enacted the America Invents Act, the first significant overhaul of codified patent law since the 1950s. Included in these changes was a redrafting of Section 102, which specifies that an invention cannot be patented beyond a one year grace period if it is 'in public use or on sale.' The redrafting of Section 102 added a new catch-all closing phrase that bars the patenting of inventions 'in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public.' The meaning and scope of this new phrase was the topic of much discussion prior to the Helsinn decision, as its limits were unclear and there was little case law to provide direction."
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