In the United States, patent applications filed before November 2000 were not published and remained secret until they were granted.
After the United States signed the TRIPS Agreement of the WTO in 1995, the standard patent term of 20 years under United States patent law has been measured from the original filing or priority date, rather than (as was previously the case) the date of issuance.
[10] During the extended prosecution period the claims of the patent could be modified to more closely match whatever technology or products had become the industry standard.
In a 2006 report the National Academy of Sciences has recommended that "in all cases, applications should be published during patent examinations".
[12][13][14] Gilbert Hyatt was awarded a patent claiming an invention pre-dating both Texas Instruments and Intel, describing a "microcontroller".
The ruling was upheld on September 9, 2005 by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit under the doctrine of laches, citing "unreasonably long … delays in prosecution.
On November 16, 2005, the full court declined to review the case, and, citing "prejudice to the public as a whole", extended the original unenforceability ruling to all claims under the patents in question.