Pilots, trials and demos without losing the invention

Where the line sits

A trial with a customer under a written confidentiality agreement, where the customer is genuinely bound and you can prove it, is not disclosure to the public.

An unrestricted deployment, a sale, or a demonstration to a room of prospects is. So is a device left with a customer with no obligations attached.

Indian law does contain a narrow provision covering public working in India within one year before the priority date for the purpose of reasonable trial only - but it is specific, conditional, and not a general permission to run a commercial pilot.

Practical arrangements

Write the confidentiality obligation into the pilot agreement, not into a separate document nobody signs. Record what was deployed, to whom and when. Restrict what the customer may photograph, publish or present. And where the pilot has to be public, file first.

What to actually do

• Put confidentiality in the pilot agreement itself.
• Keep a record of what was deployed, to whom and when.
• Do not rely on the reasonable trial provision as a general permission.
• If the pilot has to be visible, file before it starts.