antedating of a prior art reference
antedating of a prior-art reference. Patents. The removal of a publication, a U.S. patent, or a foreign patent cited as prior art against the application by filing an affidavit or declaration establishing the applicant’s completion of the invention in this country, or in another NAFTA or WTO member country, before the effective date of the cited reference. • The term applies only to U.S. patent applications. An issued patent may also antedate a prior-art reference if the conception predates the prior art and the inventor used due diligence in reducing the concept to practice. — Also termed antedating a reference; swearing behind a prior-art reference; carrying back the date of invention. [Cases: Patents 62(1).]
