In the US and Canada, you have a one year grace period. It's absolutely standard for researchers to publish a peer-reviewed paper and then patent within that grace period.
That's true for most non-U.S. countries. In the U.S. and a very few other countries, however, an inventor has a one-year grace period after publication (or offer for sale, or "public" use) in which to file a patent application. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novelty_(patent).
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I'd say - publish the idea and make use of it. You cannot (in theory) patent anything that was already published somewhere.
Nonsense!
In the US and Canada, you have a one year grace period. It's absolutely standard for researchers to publish a peer-reviewed paper and then patent within that grace period.
The idea is unique and not published anywhere,hence the patent
Yeah, so publish it. Publish it here right now.
I would imagine that publishing the idea would leave the friend liable for legal action.
It is highly (as dangrossman has already pointed out) that your friend has already signed something that assigns all IP created during a course.
This only works if the patent has not been applied for yet. Is this the case?
That's true for most non-U.S. countries. In the U.S. and a very few other countries, however, an inventor has a one-year grace period after publication (or offer for sale, or "public" use) in which to file a patent application. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novelty_(patent).
not my idea else i would have :P