So if an inventor shows her invention working at a trade show, demonstrates it for an angel investor group or offers a single unit for sale, it will not receive a patent even if she applies the next day.

FORBES: New Patent Law Means Trouble For Tech Entrepreneurs

"I call it Homebrew Health, " says one angel investor, alluding to the Homebrew Computer Club of the 1970s, the group of electronic enthusiasts, including Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, whose technology hobby led to the birth of the personal computer.

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