Legal Definitions - benefit of priority filing date

The benefit of priority filing date refers to the advantage that a patent or trademark applicant receives by being assigned the filing date of a related, earlier-filed application. This means that the applicant can claim priority over other applications filed after their priority date.

For example, if a U.S. patent applicant files an application within one year of filing a related foreign application in accordance with the Paris Convention, they can claim the filing date of the foreign application as their priority date. This can be beneficial because it gives them an earlier filing date, which can help establish their invention as novel and non-obvious.

Similarly, a U.S. trademark applicant can receive the filing date of an earlier-filed foreign application if the foreign application was filed in a Paris Convention country and the U.S. application is filed within six months after the foreign application.

Overall, the benefit of priority filing date can help patent and trademark applicants establish their rights to an invention or mark and potentially gain a competitive advantage over other applicants.