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Safe to say, when this robot appears, I generally have a comment about "Misinformation", or how the non-patent world leads the pliable minds of inventors down dangerous primrose paths. A veritable rogues gallery of Free-software, econo-bloggers and general malcontents pour confusing information onto the sticky fly mat of the internet, and the Ipsanator cleans it up.
While I am not overly concerned with correcting the unformed, it becomes a problem when I have to sooth a client's nerves based on some reading of fluff on the internet. This usually happens in a huff of righteous indignation that I, or a colleague, had somehow mislead them into spending their precious capital (and it is precious, and shouldn't be spent without reason) on pointless IP protection.
A while back, an inventor came to me with a rather interesting mechanical device. We discussed the pros and cons on manufacture, patentiabiltiy, and the like, and settled on a very conservative patent application that directed itself to the object (and not the underlying abstract methods - Thank you very much Mayo!).
Months go by and the client contacts me in a panic. "A friend told me that big companies can steal your idea, patent it in another country, and then sell it in the US. If so, why or why did I get a patent in the first place!!!" (the words "charlatan" were not uttered, but the subtext was there.)
A bit of hand-holding was in order.
This is not true. Not even close to being true. Not only is it not close to being true, it is light-years from being true. Now, is it true that in the past, Charles Dickens once remarked that america was "A Pirate Nation" based on our propensity to pirate his works? Yes. Does that have any bearing on this topic, No.
First. The Paris Convention (PCT) provides you with 12 months to get in to WIPO and then another 30/32 months to get into each local jurisdiction. So, you are always going to have the earlier filing date anywhere worth filing. So Evil Corp is never going to be able to "steal your patent" and "patent your patent".
Second, even if you don't take advantage of the PCT and just file in the U.S., nearly any other jurisdiction has a first to file system. You have already filed in the U.S., so you are the first to file anywhere. Your filing becomes anticipatory prior art to any subsequent stolen filing.
Third - assume that Evil Corp steals your patent and secretly manufactures the device in Moldavia (cause Moldavia sounds like a country full of secret factories). You can stop them at the port or border with an ITC proceeding. I am not going to go into depth on ITC, but smaller inventors would be well served to learn more about the alternative options that the ITC gives to shutting down importation of infringing products.
The most important lesson here, is that "Some guy on the internet" is never the best resource. This goes for me, I am "some guy" on the internet. However, I am "some guy" in real life too.
Have questions - drop a line.
Jordan Garner
