1.   If two people are struck by the same brainwave, it will belong to the one who lodges a patent application first.

2.   Patent applications must meet a higher legal standard to be granted and offer a different legal protection than do copyrights.

3.   In particular, can the benefit the employer derives from the invention be confined to the refinements made to a product or process after the patent application was filed?

4.   Matters contained in prior patent applications are also included.

5.   The patent application, which concerned a piece of machinery which functioned in a certain way because of the punched cards, was allowed to proceed.

6.   The first is that the patent application should be considered without the contribution of the excepted thing.

7.   It is essential that any ideas and development work concerning a possible future patent application are kept absolutely secret and confidential.

8.   The use of an experienced Patent Agent is highly recommended if a patent application is being considered.

9.   And since patent applications are secret in the United States until a patent is actually granted, no one knows that the patent application is pending.