In order for an invention to be patentable it must be new. This means that an invention cannot be patented if: (a) the invention was known or used by others in this country, or patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country, before the invention thereof by the applicant for patent, or (b) the invention was patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country or in public use or on sale in this country more than one year prior to the application for patent in the United States.
A patent cannot be obtained if the invention has been described in a printed publication anywhere in the world, or if it was known or used by others in this country before the date that the applicant made his/her invention.
If the invention has been described in a printed publication anywhere, or has been in public use or on sale in this country more than one year before the date on which an application for patent is filed in this country, a patent cannot be obtained. In other words, if the invention is described in a printed publication or is used publicly, or placed on sale, the inventor must apply for a patent before one year has gone by, otherwise any right to a patent will be lost. Additionally, the inventor must file prior or by the date of first public use or disclosure, however, in order to preserve patent rights in foreign countries.
A patent will not be granted if the invention would be obvious considering the prior art. Prior art includes any relevant knowledge, acts, descriptions, and patents which predate the invention in question. In other words, was previously “known.”
Thus even if the invention sought to be patented is not exactly shown by the prior art, and involves at least one or more differences over the most similar thing already known, a patent may still be refused if the differences would be obvious.
The subject matter sought to be patented must be different enough from what has been previously used or described that it qualifies as non-obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the area related to the invention.