If you file an application in Estonia and then file the same invention in the U.S., what rejection will you incur?

When filing an application in Estonia and subsequently filing a corresponding application in the United States, you will likely incur a 102(a)(1) rejection if the Estonian application is published prior to your U.S. filing.

Section 102(a)(1) of the U.S. patent law, as established by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, pertains to prior art that includes any public disclosures. If the application filed in Estonia is published, it becomes public knowledge and is accessible to the public, which means it can be cited against subsequent U.S. applications as prior art. This situation will lead to a rejection based on the grounds that the invention was disclosed before the effective filing date of the U.S. application.

To clarify, under a 102(a)(2) rejection scenario, prior art includes any U.S. or foreign patent applications that have an effective filing date before the date of the applicant's U.S. filing. This would apply if the foreign application were also pending. However, if it is only a published application in Estonia, it will not incur a 102(a)(2) rejection directly. The proper basis for rejection in this scenario when only considering the published application and its effect on the U.S. filing