You’re building something big. You’re moving fast. You’re showing your work to investors, pitching at demo days, launching your beta. Then it hits you—did that pitch count as a public disclosure? Did I just ruin my chances of getting a patent?
What is a Rule 130 affidavit, really?
More than a form—it’s a lifeline for your patent
At first glance, a Rule 130 affidavit might look like just another form in a sea of patent paperwork.
But if you’re running a business or launching a startup, it can be the difference between locking down your competitive edge—or losing it forever.
This isn’t just a bureaucratic step. It’s a way to rescue your invention from something you didn’t even know was a risk.
Many founders assume that if they made a disclosure—during a pitch, on a blog, in a conference—they’re safe.
After all, it’s their own work. But the patent office doesn’t look at it that way.
If your disclosure went public before your patent application was filed, it counts as prior art, even if it came from you.
That means your own words, your own slides, your own product launch could be used against you.
A Rule 130 affidavit is your formal opportunity to say, “Yes, this came out early—but it was still under my control.”
That’s why it’s so powerful, especially if you’re moving fast and sharing your work with the world before the paperwork is done.
Why timing matters more than you think
Here’s something most people don’t realize until it’s too late:
Rule 130 only works if your disclosure happened before someone else published or filed something similar.
If another person files first—or if their disclosure predates yours—then your Rule 130 affidavit can’t help.
It’s designed to disqualify your disclosure, not rescue you from someone else’s.
So the sooner you file your patent, the better.
Every day you delay increases the chance that someone else—maybe even someone who saw your pitch or product—could file a similar idea and block you from getting your patent.
If you’ve already disclosed publicly and haven’t filed your patent yet, don’t wait another week.
Get that application in and prepare to back it up with a Rule 130 affidavit, if needed.
That one move can preserve your rights and keep you from losing everything you’ve built so far.
How to get strategic with your disclosures
Here’s an often-overlooked strategy for startups: track every public disclosure from day one.
Whether it’s a live pitch, a Zoom webinar, a tweet, or a GitHub repo update—log the date, the content, and who saw it.
This becomes your own internal disclosure timeline. If you ever need to file a Rule 130 affidavit, this timeline becomes your strongest evidence.
You’re not scrambling to remember what you said at that one demo six months ago. You’ve got it documented.
Also, train your team to understand what counts as a public disclosure. Engineers love to blog.
Designers love to share mockups. Founders love to talk about product roadmaps. All of that is great—but it needs to be part of a coordinated IP strategy.
Talk to your patent attorney (or use a platform like PowerPatent) to figure out how much is safe to share.
And if you slip, don’t panic. A Rule 130 affidavit can still be a solid fix—but only if you’re proactive.
Make it part of your IP playbook
The smartest founders don’t think of patents as legal chores—they think of them as business strategy.
A Rule 130 affidavit is part of that strategy. It’s a safety valve, yes—but it’s also a way to move confidently.
To know that even if you move fast and share fast, you’re not going to accidentally kill your patent chances.
You don’t need to memorize the legal code.
You just need to build the habit: file fast, track disclosures, and use the right tools to protect your work.
That’s exactly what PowerPatent helps you do.
You don’t need to be a legal expert. You just need a platform that watches your back and knows what to do when things get tricky.
Want to see how it works in real life? Take a look here.
How this happens in real life
The startup rush can create silent traps
Let’s get real—most founders don’t wake up thinking about patent deadlines.
They’re thinking about runway, product milestones, and closing that next funding round. That’s where this gets dangerous.
The speed of startup life pushes you to share. You’re told to build in public.
You’re encouraged to post demos, go viral on LinkedIn, drop open-source libraries, and wow potential investors with live product walk-throughs.
All of that is good for momentum. But it creates hidden legal landmines.
What seems like a harmless pitch today could be a document an examiner uses against you next year.
That early “Product Hunt launch” or “Year in Review” blog post might end up cited as proof that your invention wasn’t new.
That’s not just theory. It’s what happens over and over in real life.
The moment you realize it’s already out there
One of the most common moments we see is when a founder is midway through the patent process—maybe they’ve just gotten a rejection notice from the USPTO—and buried inside is a citation.
The citation points to something that feels weirdly familiar. Maybe it’s a PDF from an old investor email. Or a link to a YouTube video from a startup event.
Then it hits them: this is their own content. Something they shared in good faith to move their business forward.
Now, it’s being used to shut their patent down.
This is the exact moment when Rule 130 comes into play. It’s your only real path to neutralizing that mistake.
But it only works if you know what happened, and you move quickly.
Treat every pitch deck like it could end up in the record
Here’s a piece of advice most startup coaches won’t give you: every time you send a pitch deck, assume it might end up as prior art.
Not because investors are out to get you.
But because anything shared without a confidentiality agreement could be considered public.
And once it’s out there—even in a startup competition or pitch night recap—it could circle back later.
So here’s what to do: version-control your decks. Keep timestamps on every pitch you send. Record when and where you shared them.
If you ever need to file a Rule 130 affidavit, those records will let you reconstruct what was shared and when.
It turns a desperate scramble into a confident defense.
Product teams need to be looped in early
One of the most overlooked issues is the disconnect between the patent filing timeline and the product release calendar.
Engineering and marketing teams often move fast—pushing features live, writing launch blogs, even creating how-to guides before the legal team is looped in.
If your company is filing patents, you need a system where legal and product talk early. Even a five-minute check-in before launch can save your IP.
That quick sync could lead to filing a provisional application just in time, or deciding to delay a post until the filing is done.
If something does leak early, Rule 130 can help—but only if the people involved know how to respond and document things correctly.
This is why process matters.
PowerPatent helps your teams stay on the same page.
Our platform makes it easy to coordinate invention capture, track public disclosures, and flag situations where Rule 130 might be needed.
You’re not just filing patents—you’re building a culture of protection.
Want to see how smart IP habits fit into fast-moving teams? Take a tour of PowerPatent
When should you use it?
The window to act is short—but clear if you know what to watch for
One of the most strategic things you can do as a founder or product leader is know exactly when a Rule 130 affidavit becomes relevant.
Most people don’t realize it until it’s already too late.
But if you spot the signals early, you can turn what looks like a major problem into a small, fixable issue.
Here’s the key: Rule 130 is not a fallback for every problem in the patent process.
It’s a very specific tool, meant to address a very specific situation—when your own public disclosure is being used as prior art against your patent application.
The moment you see that an examiner is citing your own materials, that’s when you raise your hand and prepare to file the affidavit.
But even before that happens, you can anticipate the need for it.
If you know you pitched the idea publicly before filing. If you posted a blog describing the core tech.
If you demoed the product to a public audience and then filed your patent after the fact.
These are all red flags that tell you a Rule 130 filing might be necessary later in the process.
So don’t wait to see it cited—get ready before it ever shows up.
Build it into your filing strategy from the start
This is where startups can get smart. If you know you disclosed something before filing, flag that right when you’re preparing your patent.
Don’t hide it. Don’t hope it gets missed. Instead, treat it like a known risk that you can manage.
Talk to your legal team or your PowerPatent advisor and say, “Here’s the timeline. Here’s what we shared.
If this shows up later, let’s be ready with a Rule 130 affidavit.” That one conversation can save months of delays down the line.
And it’s not just about damage control—it’s about speed.
The more clearly you document these details upfront, the easier it is to move fast when the examiner pushes back.
You’re not losing time going back to figure out what happened a year ago. You’re just executing a plan.
PowerPatent makes this kind of preparation seamless.
Our system prompts you to log known disclosures, attach dates, and create a clean record as part of your filing.
That way, if a Rule 130 situation comes up, you’re ready to respond without stress.
Watch out for disguised disclosures
Another trap to avoid is thinking that something wasn’t really a public disclosure when it was.
Many founders make the mistake of assuming that small or obscure disclosures won’t count.
Maybe the pitch was just to ten people. Maybe the blog had no traffic. Maybe the code repo wasn’t promoted.
But from the USPTO’s perspective, if it was publicly accessible, it could count as prior art.
That means Rule 130 may still be needed, even if you think no one really saw the content. If it was out there without an NDA, it’s public.
This is why a proactive mindset matters. You’re not just protecting your ideas from outsiders—you’re protecting your own speed and control.
Because once your disclosure is cited and flagged, your only two options are to prove someone else got it from you or to use Rule 130 to disqualify it.
Most companies only figure this out after losing months fighting the wrong battles. You don’t have to make that mistake.
Get in front of the issue. Map your public content. Know your timeline. File quickly.
And have Rule 130 ready as a clean, strategic option—not a last-minute rescue.
Want to see how to build all of this into your patent plan without adding chaos to your startup workflow? Start here with PowerPatent.
Why this matters more than ever
The startup playbook has changed—and patents must keep up
The way companies grow today looks nothing like it did a decade ago.
Founders are building in public, sharing progress online, raising from global investors, and launching faster than ever.
That’s great for momentum. But it’s also introducing new risks to your intellectual property—especially when it comes to timing your patent filings.
You’re no longer working in stealth mode for two years before applying for a patent.
You’re demoing new features on X, posting design mockups on LinkedIn, or launching MVPs on Product Hunt—often before the legal team is even looped in.
Every one of those actions could create a public disclosure.
And if you’re not careful, those same moments that help your company grow could be the exact things that kill your patent chances later.
That’s why Rule 130 matters more now than it ever has. It’s not just a legal tool. It’s a startup survival tool.
It lets you share confidently, knowing you have a way to protect your rights, even if you moved fast and shared early.
Your own traction can work against you
Here’s the irony. The very things that prove your startup is working—early customer demos, investor updates, PR features, open-source drops—can all come back as “evidence” that your invention isn’t new.
That’s the danger of success moving faster than your patent filings.
And in a world where funding rounds happen in days, and product timelines shrink to weeks, waiting for legal review before every release just isn’t realistic.
You need a system that helps you adapt, not slow down.
That’s where Rule 130 comes in. It gives you breathing room. It’s a way to catch up and fix things, even if your disclosure already happened.
But it only works if you’re aware of it, and act quickly when needed.
The smartest companies aren’t just avoiding risk. They’re building systems that make IP protection part of their growth engine.
They’re turning disclosures into strategic moments—capturing them, timestamping them, and filing smartly so that Rule 130 is available when needed.
Future-proofing your IP starts with how you handle the present
There’s no going back to the old way of doing things. The speed of building and sharing will only increase.
But the rules of patent law haven’t changed to match that speed. That’s the tension every startup faces now.
You need to move fast, but you also need to protect what makes you valuable. That’s your tech. Your process. Your edge.
Rule 130 gives you a way to bridge that gap. To keep your ideas safe, even if they’ve already been shared. But it’s not automatic.
You have to be intentional. You have to track your own disclosures. You have to file with the right timing. You have to know when to use it.
PowerPatent is built exactly for this kind of world. We help fast-moving teams protect their ideas without slowing down.
Our platform makes Rule 130 protection part of your workflow—not an afterthought when it’s already too late.
If you’re growing fast and sharing often, your patents need to keep up. Let us show you how. See how it works.
What actually goes into a Rule 130 affidavit?
It’s not just a form—it’s a story you need to get right
When you hear the word “affidavit,” it sounds like something cold and bureaucratic.
But in the context of Rule 130, it’s actually your chance to tell a clear, precise story about what happened.
And like any good story, it has to be believable, specific, and supported by facts.
What goes into the affidavit isn’t just paperwork. It’s proof that what was disclosed publicly was originally your invention.
You’re drawing a direct line from what’s being used against you to your own hands. The patent office isn’t looking for fluff.
They’re looking for clarity and credibility.
This is where many startups get tripped up. They think they can just say “This was mine” and that’s enough.
But the examiner isn’t just checking a box.
They’re assessing whether your affidavit clearly shows that the information came from you—or from someone who learned it from you—before the critical date.
And they’re checking that nothing feels vague or inconsistent.
Specificity is everything when you’re under the microscope
One of the biggest mistakes startups make in these affidavits is generalizing.
Saying something like “We presented our product earlier that year” doesn’t help.
You need to show exactly what was disclosed, when it was shared, and how it traces back to you as the inventor.
The examiner needs confidence that the same material they’re citing as prior art came directly from you or your team.
The strongest Rule 130 affidavits include actual timestamps. Clear references. Matching content between your disclosure and the citation.
If there’s a pitch deck being cited, your affidavit should reference the exact slide where that idea appeared.
If it’s a blog post or video, your statement should show that it was published before the citation date—and that you created it.
This level of detail gives the examiner what they need to move past the objection.
It also shows that your company takes its IP seriously, and that you came prepared.
Train your team to document like patent attorneys
Here’s a power move that separates high-functioning IP teams from reactive ones: train your internal teams—especially product and marketing—to document public disclosures like a patent attorney would.
That doesn’t mean you need to make everyone a legal expert. But you can build simple habits into your workflows.
Ask your teams to save links to everything that goes live. Archive versions of your own decks and demos.
Use time-stamped tools when you share early prototypes or publish technical content. It takes seconds now but could save months later.
If you ever need to submit a Rule 130 affidavit, having this kind of documentation ready makes it incredibly easy to assemble a solid, fact-based story.
You’re not scrambling to find screenshots or remember dates—you already have a file of your public disclosures, neatly mapped out.
PowerPatent helps you build this discipline into your workflow.
When you start an application on our platform, we prompt you to log any known public sharing events.
That way, if something surfaces later, you’re already prepared to respond strategically, not reactively.
You only get one chance to frame your case right
Here’s something important to understand. If your Rule 130 affidavit is rejected once, it’s much harder to recover.
Examiners don’t want multiple rounds of patchy affidavits that slowly build a case. They want a complete and clear story from the beginning.
So don’t treat this like a formality. Treat it like a legal brief.
Take the time to lay out the facts, back them up with real evidence, and make it easy for the examiner to connect the dots.
Even if you’re filing pro se or handling your own patents, this is one part where you should not cut corners.
A well-crafted Rule 130 affidavit isn’t just a technicality—it can be the hinge that determines whether you get your patent or not.
If you’re not sure how to build a clean, convincing affidavit, you don’t have to guess. Let PowerPatent guide you.
We combine software and expert support to help you get it right the first time.
Wrapping It Up
If you’re building a startup today, you’re moving fast. You’re testing, pitching, launching, sharing—all the things that drive momentum. But speed without protection is a dangerous game when it comes to your intellectual property. One early disclosure, even if it came from you, can be enough to derail a patent you truly deserve.
