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

When you file an application in Estonia and then subsequently file the same invention in the U.S., the most relevant rejection you might incur is under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1). This section addresses prior art that includes patents and publications that are publicly available before the effective filing date of the U.S. application. Since the Estonian filing constitutes a prior art disclosure, it impacts the novelty of the U.S. application.

A 102(a)(1) rejection indicates that your own earlier filed application (in this case, the Estonian application) serves as prior art against the later U.S. patent application. The filing in Estonia effectively makes the invention publicly available as a whole, unless it was confidential or non-published. Thus, the U.S. application would be rejected if you cannot demonstrate that your invention was not disclosed publicly ahead of your U.S. filing date.

On the other hand, a 102(a)(2) rejection pertains to applications filed on or after March 16, 2013, that consider prior patents and published applications that are filed before the current application. While potentially relevant, in this scenario, the primary rejection affecting novelty and lack of patentability arises due to the prior disclosure in the Est