- BASICS: “A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – … (c) he has abandoned the invention.” 35 U.S.C. § 102(c) (pre-AIA). The inference of abandonment of an invention disclosed but not claimed in a patent is rebutted by claiming the invention in a timely reissue application, or co-pending application, or an application within the one-year grace period of the issued patent. In re Gibbs (CCPA 02/11/71).