Navigating the On-Sale Bar Globally, Realities in the US, Europe, and China

By Thomas Ewing, Yongjia Zhou | Posted on September 3, 2026

In today’s global innovation economy, the bridge between a technology’s commercial launch and its patent protection is often complicated by legal issues. One of the most critical, yet unevenly understood, concepts across international patent systems is the restriction placed on a patent application following commercial activity—broadly referred to in the US as the “on-sale bar.”...