Light on simultaneous invention from US Patent Office "Interference" records

The Patent-granting practice of the United States requires that an applicant be "first-to-invent," not "first to file." This means that if two applications which might be for the same invention are received within a short time of each other, an "Interference" investigation by the Patent and Trademark Office is necessary to clarify this point. The publicly accessible files of these enquiries can therefore be a valuable source for studying simultaneous invention. There are about 200 Interference cases a year. Examination of 270 files in which at least one party was not American, and another 101 in which at least one party was European, shows that simultaneous invention in these cases is rarely due to spontaneous insights by individuals. Those involved in Interferences are usually the most advanced and largest firms in the world. Their R&D is strongly market-driven, and often has a common stimulus, such as academic disclosures at specialist Conferences. These results also provide a useful supplement to other information sources for the study of international competitiveness. A striking feature is evidence of the inventive power of Japanese firms, since in many of the cases, only Japanese parties were involved, with no firm from any other country in competition. The Interference files also offer potential for the study of the history of technology.