If the claims are allowed, either initially or by amendment, the patent issues and the owner gets a monopoly on the technology, beginning from the date of issuance. In Granting Patents 1. The invention must be new or novel . The Patent Examiner will check in patent files and printed publications, anywhere in the world, for disclosures of the invention by persons other than the inventor. If the invention has been in the public domain for over a year prior to the filing of the patent application, a patent is unobtainable.
Foreign countries are more severe.
Most foreign countries hold that the first time anything is disclosed with a patent application on file, the right to file is lost. The invention must be unobvious . This is a very subjective standard. The invention must be unobvious to anyone with ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains. Honesty with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will generate a stronger patent as there is a lessened chance of a validity challenge.