Can someone wait before patenting something?
<p>Let's say I invent something.</p>

<p>I manufacture it without patenting it.</p>

<p>30 years later, someone reverse-engineered my invention.</p>

<p>I see that he is a few months away from manufacturing it, can I rush in and patent it now?</p>

<h2>No</h2>

<p>A patent application must be lodged <em>before</em> the invention is made public in any way (or, in the US, within 1 year of the public disclosure).</p>

patents