Patent Disclosure Question

[mitch43]

My invention seems to modify an existing patent however I am trying to determine if I do not have to license the patent due to the disclosure limitation. The other inventor disclosed their invention on 11/24/11 however they did not file for a patent until 11/12/12. Does this mean I am able to file for my own patent?

[Brad]

If the inventor did a public disclosure on November 24, 2011 that means they have one year (until November 24, 2012) to get their patent application filed.  In this case they may be okay since they filed before that deadline.

As far as obtaining a license goes, that is a difficult question and would require careful analysis of their claims by a patent attorney.  This is not a service we can offer. 

Also, make sure their patent is still valid and did not expire or go abandoned for failure to pay the proper USPTO fees.   See this post:
https://patentfile.org/how-to-use-expired-or-abandoned-patents-instead-of-re-inventing/