How does a specific example in prior art anticipate a claimed range?

This page is an FAQ based on guidance from the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. It is provided as guidance, with links to the ground truth sources. This is information only: it is not legal advice.

A specific example in prior art can anticipate a claimed range if it falls within that range. This is based on the principle that disclosing a species (specific example) anticipates a genus (range) that includes that species.

The MPEP 2131.03 provides an illustrative example:

“Claims to titanium (Ti) alloy with 0.6-0.9% nickel (Ni) and 0.2-0.4% molybdenum (Mo) were held anticipated by a graph in a Russian article on Ti-Mo-Ni alloys because the graph contained an actual data point corresponding to a Ti alloy containing 0.25% Mo and 0.75% Ni and this composition was within the claimed range of compositions.”

This example demonstrates that even a single data point within a claimed range can be sufficient to anticipate the entire range, as long as it is clearly disclosed in the prior art.