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[MikeR]

Does a confidential offer to sell a product that has an invention in it bar the filing of a patent application at the EPO for the invention if the offer for sale does not disclose the invention?

[still_learnin]

Does a confidential offer to sell a product that has an invention in it bar the filing of a patent application at the EPO for the invention if the offer for sale does not disclose the invention?

I don't know enough about the EPO to answer the question ... but I do wonder if there is a single "EPO" answer? Or does it depend on national law? That is, what constitutes an offer for sale in the UK might differ from the answer in Germany, etc. etc.

[DogDayPM 9er9er9er]

@ MikeR, my impression is that an offer for sale, if done under a confidentiality agreement, would not be a problem at the EPO even if the offer for sale had completely disclosed the reference.  For a more thorough review of what constitutes a bar at the EPO in relation to a public disclosure, look at the links below and in particular for discussion by the member "bartmans".
http://www.intelproplaw.com/ip_forum/index.php/topic,14831.0.html
http://www.intelproplaw.com/ip_forum/index.php/topic,15079.0.html


@Still_Learnin,  my understanding is that all countries which have agreed to the EPC have agreed to abide by EPO decisions relating to patentability.  That means that a patent granted by the EPO will be validated by the (e.g.) German patent office as long as the applicant pays fees and provides translations as required.  Later, though, in litigation before various national courts, I know that sometimes different outlooks on patentability may be found.  This could possibly include views differing from the EPO on whether a particular action constituted a novelty destroying public disclosure.

[UVAgal4]

It would all depend on whether this prior disclosure was "public" or not. Something confidential between a company and a sub-contractor for example would not be public and would not be novelty-destroying.
See art. 55 EPC.