Existing technological information against which an invention or design is judged to determine if it is novel and can thus be registered.(FR:État antérieur de la technique, IT:Stato della Tecnica )
Any information which is used to describe public, technical knowledge prior to the invention by applicant or more than a year prior to his/her application.
All of the pertinent and applicable knowledge in the public domain at the time a patent application is filed.
existing technical information against which the patentability of an invention is evaluated; is pertinent in novelty and obviousness requirements for a patent.
Information existing in the public domain prior to the date of invention or more than one year before the patent application date. Prior art affects whether an invention is patentable and may exist in several forms, including previously issued patents, publications, models which have been built and tested, and general knowledge within the field of invention.
Existing technological information against which an invention or design is judged to determine if it is novel and can thus be registered. Prior art references include documentary sources such as patents and publications from anywhere in the world, and non documentary sources such as things known or used publicly.
The existing body of technological information against which an invention is judged to determine if it is patentable as being novel and unobvious. It must be early enough in time to be cited against the application.
The listing and description of all previous patents which a new invention may infringe upon.
Industrial Design : The body of registered industrial designs or other published designs including catalogues, manuals and other publications throughout the world relevant to the application for registration of a design.
Prior art is defined as any literature that is in the public domain prior to the filing date of a patent application that discloses or anticipates the technology you are applying to protect. The Patent Office will undertake a prior art search in the process of granting a patent, however it is necessary that you also undertake a prior art search as it has many added benefits other than establishing that your technology is novel, for example it will show you who else is researching in fields similar to your technology - these may be your competitors.
Any recorded evidence whatsoever that an inventive step is already known. An extremely hard test of novelty that all inventions must pass.
public knowledge that exists in a field; all previously issued patents, publications, public announcements, or knowledge that bear on the invention claimed in a patent application.
the body of existing patents or patent applications or any publication throughout the world, relevant to an application or patent
all publicly known information that could relate to an invention including prior patents and published material that distinguishes an invention against novelty and nonobviousness.
Previously used or published technology that may be referred to in a patent application or examination report. (a) In a broad sense, technology that is relevant to an invention and was publicly available (e.g. described in a publication or offered for sale) at the time an invention was made. (b) in a narrow sense, any such technology which would invalidate a patent or limit its scope. The process of prosecuting a patent or interpreting its claims largely consists of identifying relevant prior art and distinguishing the claimed invention from that prior art.
Technology that was available prior to either the date of invention or the filing date of the application, depending on the patent office rule under consideration. Availability can be based on such factors as public use, secret sale, publication, public knowledge, etc. depending on the patent law of the jurisdiction in which the patent is being sought.
All previous inventions in the field of an invention for which a patent is being sought. Prior art is used by the Patent and TM Office to decide whether the invention is sufficiently unique and non-intuitive to qualify for patent protection.
The sum total of knowledge publicly accessible to people interested in pursuing inventions in a particular field. Every book, magazine article, and sales catalog that has ever been printed is part of the prior art, as are student theses (as long as they sit on a shelf in some library and are referenced in the card catalog). Something is in the prior art if you can find out about it without breaking into somebody's office, signing a non-disclosure agreement, or getting a section clearance. If something is in the prior art, it's not patentable.
In most patent laws, prior art or state of the art (the latter term sometimes has other meanings as well) is all information that has been made available to the public in any form before a given date. If an invention has been described in prior art, a patent on that invention is not valid.