defensive disclosure
defensive disclosure. Patents. The deliberate publication of details about an invention in order to render it prior art and preclude others from getting a patent on the same invention. • This can be done formally, by filing for public disclosure through the Statutory Invention Registration and publishing the abstract in the Official Gazette of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or privately, by publishing it in an independent journal that will probably be consulted by a patent examiner. Once published, the information becomes prior art and precludes issuance of a patent on that invention. — Also termed defensive publication. See STATUTORY INVENTION REGISTRATION. [Cases: Patents 115. C.J.S. Patents § 210.]
