Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!clyde.concordia.ca!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!beaches.toronto.edu!thomson
From: thomson@beaches.toronto.edu (Brian Thomson)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: Computer Patents (software)
Message-ID: <1990Jul3.114049.9551@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu>
Date: 3 Jul 90 15:40:49 GMT
References: <1078@cluster.cs.su.oz>
Organization: CSRI, University of Toronto
Lines: 18

In article <1078@cluster.cs.su.oz> pjt@.cs.su.oz.au (Peter John Treloar) writes:
>Most western countries belong to the Patent Co-operation
>Treaty which allows for the claiming of a foreign country
>filing date to be the same as the home country filing date etc
>etc.

For what that is worth.  In US patent applications, it is the date
of invention rather than the date of filing that is critical, and if
you can provide documentary evidence (eg. notarized inventor's notebook)
that you actually invented something before another applicant you may
be granted the patent in spite of filing later.

At least, if you are an American you can.  Foreign applicants are 
deemed to have invented on their filing date, and are not given the
same opportunity to prove their priority.
-- 
		    Brian Thomson,	    CSRI Univ. of Toronto
		    utcsri!uthub!thomson, thomson@hub.toronto.edu