It is critical that a patent application be filed before
the date on which you make the invention available to the public.
That's a consequence of patent legislation in most countries around
the world.
You want to be sure that your invention complies with the
novelty requirements of most countries. You just never know what
deal is around the corner. It may be a licence deal with a large chain
of department stores in a foreign
jurisdiction.
It will then be of little comfort if you have to use
Australia's grace period but are precluded from valid patent
protection in that jurisdiction where there is no such thing as a
grace period.
What exactly do I mean by "making the invention available to the
public"? In short, there must be no disclosure of the invention
to anyone without an obligation of confidentiality on the party
receiving that information.
It often happens that you have no choice but to discuss the
invention with someone else. The relatively low cost involved in
having a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) prepared may well be a good
investment.
Even if you've had such an agreement drawn up, it's important
that you take minutes during the meeting. You then follow up that
meeting with an e-mail confirming the discussions with an attached
copy of the minutes. Such a precaution will protect you from
your potential investors or business partners denying that what was
discussed was covered by the NDA.
It might not be the end of the world if you're one of those
unfortunate inventors who have made their invention available to the
public without understanding the consequences. Please feel free to
contact me to discuss your options.