Flash Of Genius (FOG) ... with respect to ENABLEMENT

"Land-Ho" . . . inventing is a little like sighting land after navigating with no land in sight and nothing but fog on the horizon...

Trying to explain inventing to another is a real challenge, and the exhilaration of discovering "it" can't be easily captured.  "Land Ho" is my close approximation for now.  All of a sudden, in a flash you know the invention... there's land. The Vikings sensed when they were near shore and would light the tips of their arrows, shoot them into the fog off the bow, and wait until one landed and the flames caught. 

So Who Cares about the FLASH-OF-GENIUS, why did it really matter Before AIA(BAIA), and what is it's value After AIA (AAIA)?

This blog category seeks to explore this fundamental principle of inventing, the "AH-HA" moment, in the context of what it means to be First-To-File. Keep in mind that the rule book for any of this is the Manual of Patent Examination Procedures (MPEP).  The requirements for a non-provisional utility patent application that publishes with a clean file wrapper and with claims scoped on the Preferred Embodiment (P-E) always been the only thing that matters. But now the rights accrue to the fastest and most accurate filer.

First to Conceive(original date of invention) derives from the FOG...it is the date you sighted the"land". How does it relate to First to File?

America invents act has put into sharp contrast the opportunity afforded a seminal, original inventor and the ultimate acquisition of a "holy grail" utility patent covering "it".

In the old days, Before AIA, the invention process could document the Flash Of Genius...think of it as coming out of the FOG with a fundamental insight that serves as the trigger for developing a P-E that does the thing.

With that chain of discovery, the reduction to practice off the FOG, if an infringement happened either by an interference action (the patent office internally identifying another patent that reads on your patent), or afterward, when in the market... monopoly rights could be secured retroactively based on proof of invention date.

NO LONGER...so even though the invention date is IMPORTANT, its now After AIA, and establishing the true valued P-E with a best mode and full enablement is equally necessary...but getting the patent claim first is the gold rush.

This blog category will share thoughts on what it means to make/use...make/use...make/use before selling, fail fast, keep trade secrets, and use best practices to secure the true invention...before going public, while not sacrificing the race to "stake of your claim" at the PTO.

So, the key theme is that today, its fail fast in secret, then file right-the-first time, with an airtight patent application de-risked from Fatal Office Action Rejections...(FOARS).

So this blog category will explore how to move out of the FOG with out suffering FOARS :)