There is no “supplier exception” to the on-sale bar. It is of no consequence that a “commercial offer for sale” is made by the patentee’s own supplier or that it was made to the patentee itself. A patent application or at least provisional application should be filed before entering into any such supplier communications.
Background / Facts: The patent at issue here is for a type of “slow cooker,” an electrically heated lidded pot used to cook food at low temperatures for long periods. The claimed slow cooker includes clips used to seal the detachable lid of the device on the housing of the cooker. The sealing action provided by the clips is intended to limit leaking during transport. Prior to filing their patent application (more than one year prior), the patentee issued a purchase order to its supplier for manufacture of certain slow cookers embodying the ultimately claimed invention. The supplier responded that it had received the order and was ready to fulfill it upon the patentee’s “release.” The email also listed specific details of what the order would entail.
Issue(s): Whether the patentee’s communications with its supplier amounted to a commercial offer for sale and therefore a statutory bar to the claimed invention.
Holding(s): Yes. “[The patentee’s] supplier responded prior to the critical date that it was ready to fulfill the order. In other words, the supplier made an offer to sell the slow cookers to [the patentee]. At that point, the commercial offer for sale was made and, under the governing corporate purchase agreement, [the patentee] could accept the offer when it so pleased.”