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Simple English definitions for legal terms
abandoned, suppressed, or concealed
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A quick definition of abandoned, suppressed, or concealed:
Abandoned, Suppressed, or Concealed: This means that someone had an idea for an invention, but they didn't tell anyone about it or try to make it. It could have been on purpose or by accident. If someone else comes up with the same idea later and tries to patent it, the first person's idea might not count as "prior art" if they abandoned it or kept it secret. However, if they kept it secret after the idea became known to the public, it still counts as prior art.
A more thorough explanation:
ABANDONED, SUPPRESSED, OR CONCEALED
Abandoned, suppressed, or concealed refers to patents that have intentionally or accidentally been hidden from public notice, not reduced to practice, or not patented. If an inventor abandons the field to others or is held to have lost the right to patent by suppressing or concealing the invention, another person's earlier invention will not be considered prior art. However, if the suppression or concealment occurred after the art became known to the public, then it still qualifies as prior art.
Example 1: An inventor creates a new type of engine but decides not to patent it and instead keeps it a secret. This invention is considered abandoned, suppressed, or concealed.
Example 2: A company develops a new type of software but decides not to release it to the public and instead keeps it hidden. This invention is considered abandoned, suppressed, or concealed.
These examples illustrate how an invention can be considered abandoned, suppressed, or concealed if it is intentionally or accidentally hidden from public notice. In both examples, the inventions were not patented and were kept secret, making them ineligible for patent protection.