Law Commons^™

Statutory Invention Registration: Defensive Patentability, Wendell Ray Guffey

Golden Gate University Law Review

Congress recently enacted legislation that provides for Statutory Invention Registration (SIR) as an alternative for an inventor who does not want to obtain a patent. To obtain a SIR, an inventor must file a complete application for a patent accompanied by a waiver of the rights obtained under a patent grant. This waiver of rights takes effect when the SIR is published and leaves the inventor with only defensive protection. The inventor completely loses his offensive rights, i.e., the right to exclude others from making, using, or selling the invention. In exchange for an inventor's right to exploit his invention, …