United States patent law Under United States law, a patent is a right granted to the inventor of a (1) process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, (2) that is new, useful, and non-obvious. A patent is the right to exclude others, for a limited ...

, the reduction to practice is the step in the formation of an

invention An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an i ...

beyond the conception thereof. Reduction to practice may be either actual (the invention is actually carried out and is found to work for its intended purpose) or constructive (a

patent application A patent application is a request pending at a patent office for the grant of a patent for an invention described in the patent specification and a set of one or more claims stated in a formal document, including necessary official forms and re ...

having a sufficient disclosure is filed). The date of reduction to practice was critical to the determination of priority between

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

s in an

interference proceeding An interference proceeding, also known as a priority contest, is an inter partes proceeding to determine the priority issues of multiple patent applications. It is a proceeding unique to the patent law of the United States. Unlike in most other cou ...

under the discontinued first-to-invent system as well as for swearing behind a reference under that system. Conception is the "formation in the mind of the inventor, of a definite and permanent idea of the complete and operative invention, as it is hereafter to be applied in practice." ''Hybritech Inc. v. Monoclonal Antibodies, Inc.'', 802 F.2d 1367, 1376 ( Fed. Cir. 1986) (quoting 1 Robinson ''On Patents'' 532 (1890). The reduction to practice of an invention can either be: * Actual reduction to practice: " quires that the claimed invention work for its intended purpose." ''Brunswick Corp. v. U.S.'', 34 Fed. Cl. 532, 584 (1995). * Constructive reduction to practice: " curs upon the filing of a patent application on the claimed invention." ''Brunswick Corp. v. U.S.'', 34 Fed. Cl. 532, 584 (1995). * "Simultaneous conception and reduction to practice": "On rare occasions conception and reduction to practice occur simultaneously in unpredictable technologies." (citing MPEP §2138.04 "Conception" -10.2019. "In some instances, such as the discovery of genes or chemicals, an inventor is unable to establish a conception until he has reduced the invention to practice through a successful experiment." ''The Regents of the University of California v. Synbiotics Co.'', 849 F.Supp. 740, 742 (S.D.Cal., 1994) (citing ''Amgen, Inc. v. Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.'', 927 F.2d 1200, 1206 (Fed. Cir. 1991)). The court will apply this doctrine in so-called "unpredictable arts" such as

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

and

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

where the invention is a "biologically active composition of matter," also called a "

bio-chemical Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

substance."

Some types of evidence

In addition to an inventor's notebook, several additional kinds of evidence can be used to establish an earlier priority date.

Disclosure Document Program

The Disclosure Document Program (DDP) was a USPTO program that allowed an inventor to file a preliminary description of his/her invention. The program was discontinued by the USPTO as of February 1, 2007, in favor of filing a

provisional application Under United States patent law, a provisional application is a legal document filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), that establishes an early filing date, but does not mature into an issued patent unless the applicant ...

. The USPTO says:

A provisional application for patent provides more benefits and protections to inventors than a disclosure document and can be used for the same purposes as a disclosure document if necessary. ... A non-provisional application must be filed within twelve months of the filing date of a provisional patent in order for the inventor to claim the benefit of the provisional application. ... USPTO Website
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References

United States patent law {{US-law-stub