You are right in that the date of invention in the U.S. is a useful date, but it only means that in the event of a conflict either during patent prosecution or on a challenge to validity later, he who can show they had an earlier date of invention will "win". In the rest of the world, it is the date of application that determines who ends up with the patent rights in the event of such a dispute. But it is not a priority date.
This is like calling a router a switch and claiming they are the same thing. Quite different in fact.
The date of invention is not determinative for things like infringement (again, short of patent invalidity), and the date of invention is never written down anywhere. It only comes out in the case of a conflict.
The date of filing IS a determining date for the term of the patent - it last for 20 years from the date of filing.
Further, the date of invention is not a "priority date", that is the earliest date for which an application can claim priority. An application cannot claim priority from an arbitrary date of invention, it can only claim priority from an earlier filed application here or abroad. Basically, you can never say, "Patent office, I invented this widget on this day" and have them say, "Ah yes, your patent term starts then." Your earliest priority date is your earliest filing date either here or abroad.
The question, as I understood it, was "how can he apply for a patent on something that I'm shipping". The answer, in the US, is that he can claim to have invented it first.
No, none of this goes to patent term, but he's not concerned about now, he's concerned about the future, if his product is successful, after the patent issues (if it issues).
It seems reasonable to assume a conflict given that a conflict is why he posted.
You are right in that the date of invention in the U.S. is a useful date, but it only means that in the event of a conflict either during patent prosecution or on a challenge to validity later, he who can show they had an earlier date of invention will "win". In the rest of the world, it is the date of application that determines who ends up with the patent rights in the event of such a dispute. But it is not a priority date.
This is like calling a router a switch and claiming they are the same thing. Quite different in fact.
The date of invention is not determinative for things like infringement (again, short of patent invalidity), and the date of invention is never written down anywhere. It only comes out in the case of a conflict.
The date of filing IS a determining date for the term of the patent - it last for 20 years from the date of filing.
Further, the date of invention is not a "priority date", that is the earliest date for which an application can claim priority. An application cannot claim priority from an arbitrary date of invention, it can only claim priority from an earlier filed application here or abroad. Basically, you can never say, "Patent office, I invented this widget on this day" and have them say, "Ah yes, your patent term starts then." Your earliest priority date is your earliest filing date either here or abroad.