Legal Definitions - anticipation

Anticipation is when someone performs an act or obligation before it is legally required. This term is used in different legal contexts:

In patent law, anticipation means that someone else has already invented or disclosed the same thing that the patent applicant is trying to patent. This can happen if the inventor has published or sold their invention before applying for a patent. If this is the case, the patent applicant will not be able to get a patent.

For example, if John invents a new type of phone and starts selling it before he applies for a patent, he cannot get a patent for that invention because he has already disclosed it to the public.

In conveyance, anticipation means that someone is dealing with income before it becomes due. This can happen if someone assigns or charges their income to someone else before they receive it.

For example, if Sarah knows that she will receive $1000 in two weeks, she cannot assign that money to her friend before she actually receives it. If she does, she is anticipating the income.

These examples illustrate how anticipation means doing something before it is legally allowed or required. In both cases, the person who anticipates something will not be able to get what they want because they did not follow the legal requirements.