What is required for a reference to be anticipatory prior art?

For a reference to be considered anticipatory prior art, it must meet specific criteria. According to MPEP 2122:

“In order to constitute anticipatory prior art, a reference must identically disclose the claimed compound, but no utility need be disclosed by the reference.”

This means that:

• The reference must identically disclose the claimed compound.
• The reference must teach a process of making the compound.
• The reference does not need to disclose a utility for the compound.

These requirements ensure that the prior art fully describes the invention, even if it doesn’t specify its use.

To learn more:

• anticipatory prior art
• patent examination
• compound disclosure