when does a patent application become prior art
Prior art To anticipate the subject-matter of a patent claim, prior art is generally expected to provide a description sufficient to inform an average worker in the field (or the person skilled in the art) of some subject matter falling within the scope of the claim. Prior art must be available in some way to the public, and in many countries, the information needs to be recorded in a fixed form somehow. Prior art generally does not include unpublished work or mere conversations (though according to the European Patent Convention, oral disclosures also form prior artâ€”see Article 54(2) EPC). It is disputed whether traditional knowledge (e.g., of medical properties of a certain plant) constitutes prior art.[citation needed]
Roll film In 1881 a farmer in Cambria, Wisconsin, Peter Houston, invented the first roll film camera. His younger brother David, filed the patents for various components of Peter's camera.[1] David Henderson Houston (b. June 14, 1841; d. May 6, 1906 ),[2] originally from Cambria, Wisconsin, patented the first holders for flexible roll film.[2][3] Houston moved to Hunter in Dakota Territory in 1880. He was issued an 1881 patent for a roll film holder [4][5] which he licensed to George Eastman (it was used in Eastman's Kodak 1888 box camera). Houston sold the patent (and an 1886 revision[6]) outright to Eastman for $5000 in 1889.[2][7][8] Houston continued developing the camera, creating 21 patents for cameras or camera parts between 1881 and 1902.[2][9] In 1912 his estate transferred the remainder of his patents to Eastman.[2]