What is the CREATE Act and how does it affect patent applications?
The Cooperative Research and Technology Enhancement (CREATE) Act, enacted in 2004, amended pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(c) to allow disqualification of certain prior art in obviousness rejections if the claimed invention resulted from a joint research agreement. It affects how prior art is treated in certain situations involving collaborations between different entities.
The MPEP explains: The CREATE Act permits an applicant or patentee, who is a party to a joint research agreement, to disqualify prior art that is applied in a rejection under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) and that is otherwise available as prior art only under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(e), (f) or (g).
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