No abstract

For the last 170 years, United States patent law has barred inventors from obtaining patents on inventions that were on sale before the inventor filed the patent application, subject to some grace period. Courts have struggled to formulate a clear and fair standard for what conduct by an inventor places an invention "on sale." The current test, articulated by the Federal Circuit, requires only that the invention, when "ready for patenting," be the subject of a contractual offer for sale-one that would be binding upon acceptance. This test, though easier to administer than its predecessors, in many cases yields results that are completely arbitrary with respect to the goals of the patent system.