Patents: Recognizing Novelty

This article is based on a chapter of the author’s newest book, “First to File: Patents for Today’s Scientist and Engineer,” published by the AIChE/Wiley imprint. The author is CEP’s Patent Update columnist.
An important step in assessing the patentability of an invention is comparing the invention to the prior art to determine whether the invention is sufficiently different from the prior art to qualify it for a patent. The differences that qualify are those that make the invention “novel” and “nonobvious.” Novelty requires that the invention differ in some way from the prior art, while nonobviousness requires that the difference be great enough to rise to the level of a patent grant. Novelty is a threshold requirement, because nonobviousness can only be evaluated if the invention presents something novel. This article discusses what makes an invention novel, and illustrates the concepts of novelty through actual patent litigation cases. These insights can help readers work more effectively with their patent attorneys.