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).
Comments
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).