inoperable mode
inoperable mode. Patents. In a patent application, a disclosed way of working an invention that is not the best mode. • The term usu. designates a mode that is intended to misrepresent or deliberately conceal the best mode. That misrepresentation or concealment is inequitable conduct that will bar patentability or render an issued patent unenforceable. [Cases: Patents 98. C.J.S. Patents §§ 137–139.]