public use bar
public-use bar. Patents. A statutory bar that prevents the granting of a patent for an invention that was publicly used or sold in the United States more than one year before the application date. 35 USCA § 102(b). • The doctrine can be invoked for any public use, any commercial use, any sale or offer of sale, or any private transfer made without a pledge of secrecy. — Also termed prior-use bar. Cf. PRIVATE-USE EXCEPTION. [Cases: Patents 75. C.J.S. Patents §§ 107–109.]
