Originally Posted by
JimmieDee
Hello James, the “priority” date will always be set to the date of the application whether that’s a provisional application which is publicly published possibly in an attempt to deter others from producing the same design or a standard application where the patent letters are kept private until they are granted. Certainly these days, once a patent has been granted in one country, you can then file the same patent internationally and the priority date, if memory serves me correctly, will also be backdated to the priority date of the original patent provided it is accepted.
I don’t think that has any bearing in this case as I mention the date when Quackenbush filed his patent rather than the grant date.
I have been unable to locate Bergmann’s “complete specification” and granted patent so that could indicate that the provisional patent was never granted and thus they may never have attained the sole rights for this design in GB. Although the “accepted” date on the provisional patent following the date when the complete specification was “left” would indicate that it was perhaps granted after all.
Patents are a bit of a gamblers game. I’ve spent many years dealing with patent applications, grants, grumpy examiners (mostly in the US), post grant objections from competitors, and some very very very expensive court cases where both sides have spent millions yet neither won (except for the lawyers and judges)! So, slightly off topic, never believe that a patent fully protects IPR... most patents can be worked around and offer little protection. You also need to be prepared to spend a lot of money should you wish to bring a case in front of a judge.