- published: 21 Feb 2012
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In United States patent law, the reduction to practice is a concept meaning the embodiment of the concept of an invention. The date of this embodiment is critical to the determination of priority between inventors in an interference proceeding.
Conception is the "formation in the mind of the inventor, of a definite and permanent idea of the complete and operative invention, as it is hereafter to be applied in practice." Hybritech Inc. v. Monoclonal Antibodies, Inc., 802 F.2d 1367, 1376 (Fed. Cir. 1986) (quoting 1 Robinson On Patents 532 (1890))
The embodiment of an invention can either be:
In addition to inventor's notebook, several additional kinds of evidence can be used to establish an earlier priority date.
A "working model" is usually a strong evidence to demonstrate actual reduction to practice. Unlike patent models of the 18th and 19th century, a working model is no longer a requirement of the U.S. patent law. However, if the inventor builds a working model for testing and for displaying to potential buyers, it can also be used to prove an earlier than filing priority date.[citation needed]