How does the MPEP address utility disclosure in anticipatory references?

The MPEP 2122 explicitly addresses utility disclosure in anticipatory references, stating:

“UTILITY NEED NOT BE DISCLOSED IN REFERENCE”

This heading is followed by an explanation that a reference can be anticipatory without disclosing utility. The MPEP further clarifies:

“[N]o utility need be disclosed for a reference to be anticipatory of a claim to an old compound.”

This guidance emphasizes that the lack of a disclosed utility does not prevent a reference from being anticipatory, as long as it meets other criteria such as identically disclosing the claimed compound and teaching a process of making it.

To learn more:

• utility disclosure
• anticipatory references
• MPEP guidance