How do examiners evaluate prophetic examples in patent applications?

Patent examiners evaluate prophetic examples in the context of the entire disclosure to determine if they contribute to meeting the enablement requirement. According to MPEP 2164.02:

“The mere fact that something has not actually been done does not mean that it cannot be enabled; there is no requirement that an inventor actually carry out the invention before a patent is granted.”

Examiners consider factors such as:

• The level of detail provided in the prophetic examples
• The plausibility of the predicted results
• The state of the art at the time of filing
• Whether a person skilled in the art could make and use the invention based on the prophetic examples without undue experimentation

If the examiner has reason to doubt the objective truth of the prophetic examples, they may request additional evidence or reject the application based on lack of enablement.

To learn more:

• prophetic examples
• patent examination
• enablement evaluation
• MPEP 2164.02