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102(b) Patent Filing Deadline Calculator
Under US patent law, you have exactly one year from the date of your first public disclosure to file a patent application. After that, the right to file is permanently lost. Enter your publication date below to check your deadline.
Enter the date the work was first publicly disclosed — paper published, preprint uploaded, poster presented, or SBIR award announced.
Disclaimer: This calculator provides an estimated deadline based on the date entered. It does not constitute legal advice. The actual statutory bar analysis depends on multiple factors including the nature of the disclosure, co-inventor contributions, and prior public disclosures.
Understanding the 102(b) Grace Period
What counts as a public disclosure?
Any publication, presentation, poster session, thesis defense, preprint upload, or public demonstration of the invention. Academic papers (PubMed, arXiv, IEEE), conference proceedings, SBIR/STTR award abstracts, and even certain grant applications can trigger the one-year clock.
What happens at the deadline?
After the one-year grace period expires, the publication becomes prior art against the inventor under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1). This is an absolute bar — no extensions, no exceptions. The right to file a US patent on the disclosed subject matter is permanently lost.
Does this apply to provisional applications?
Yes. A provisional patent application filed within the grace period establishes an early priority date. Many attorneys recommend filing a provisional as soon as possible after disclosure to preserve rights while the full application is prepared.
What about international filing?
Most countries outside the US operate on an absolute novelty standard — meaning any public disclosure before filing destroys patent rights entirely. The US grace period is an exception. If international protection is important, file before any public disclosure.
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