How is inherency established in patent applications?
Establishing inherency in patent applications requires clear evidence that the undisclosed feature is necessarily present in the invention. According to MPEP 2163.07(a):
“To establish inherency, the extrinsic evidence ‘must make clear that the missing descriptive matter is necessarily present in the thing described in the reference, and that it would be so recognized by persons of ordinary skill. Inherency, however, may not be established by probabilities or possibilities. The mere fact that a certain thing may result from a given set of circumstances is not sufficient.'”
This means that inherency must be based on certainty, not mere probability. The undisclosed feature must be inevitably present and recognizable to those skilled in the art.
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