Basic Requirements of Patentability Novelty

In every matter that relates to invention. .. we are borrowers. 

The Chemist s Companion Guide to Patent Law, by Chris P. Miller and Mark J. Evans Copyright 2010 John Wiley Sons, Inc. 

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There are three basic requirements for patentability novelty non-obviousness or inventive step and usefulness or industrial applicability. Each requirement may differ from country to country and is set forth by the statutes and regulations of each country. 

The basic requirements of national laws on protection of inventions by patents are novelty, inventive step, and industrial application, which are now examined in turn. 

Under the terms of Article 8 of the Brazilian Industrial Property Law, patentable inventions are those that have the three basic requirements of novelty, inventive step, and industrial application. Additionally, from Article 50, II, if the specification does not clearly and sufficiently describe the subject matter so as to enable its reproduction by a technician in the subject, the so-called sufficiency of disclosure, it is against the provisions of Article 24, and is thus not accepted (Art. 50, II). 

After publication of the application and the search report, the applicant has to request substantive examination for patentability to be performed at the EPO. The examination of the application is performed by the Examining Division of the EPO. On completion of the examination, which includes an examination for inventive step as well as for novelty (novelty and inventive step are basic requirements for patentability see Section IV. A.), either the application is rejected or the European patent is granted. The specification as granted is published and the grant of the European patent leads to national patents being registered in the designated EPC countries. 

A patent must end with one or more patent claims which describe the patented subject matter as unambiguously as possible. Patent claims may be considered as the definition of the patent scope for legal purposes. The precedent patent description has to justify all aspects of the patent claims and will be used for this purpose during the examination process. But only in cases of doubt will details of the patent description be used later on to interpret the patent claims. Thus, patent claims must be formulated with the utmost care. The three basic requirements novelty, non-obviousness and utility have to apply to... 

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