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We are a software company.
We release new features quite fast.
We have released a feature in our product in 2021, which have been used by a certain number of customers. Will it still be possible for us to file a patent application for that in 2022 or even later?
In the US, you have a one year grace period to file a patent after public disclosure. So it depends on when in 2021 you first publicly disclosed the features you wish to patent. For pretty much any other country you are out of luck. If you disclosed the feature to just certain customers and they agreed to keep the feature secret (preferably with a signed document), you might be okay as the disclosure may not be considered public.
Other than the US most all locations require absolute novelty. The day after you disclose is too late to file anywhere in Europe, for example. Of course under the Paris Convention filing anywhere before any disclosure gives you a year to file everywhere else.
Not to be confused with the US grace period year.
