In other words, the first inventor to file an application for an invention gets the patent, not the first person to invent something.

FORBES: Are We Greeks or Romans? New Patent Law Means Challenges for U.S. Innovators

For anyone with an invention to sell, patent and intellectual property protection is their first priority.

FORBES: How to Find and Market an Invention -- David Larsen, CompleteSpeech

Suppose, further, that an employee at Company B independently conceives the same invention in June and files for a patent in July.

FORBES: March 16, 2013: The United States Transitions To A 'First-Inventor-To-File' Patent System