How does the AIA affect the relevant time for determining enabling prior art?
The America Invents Act (AIA) has changed the relevant time for determining enabling prior art. As noted in MPEP 2121.02:
“For applications subject to the first inventor to file (FITF) provisions of the AIA, the relevant time is ‘before the effective filing date of the claimed invention’. For applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102, the relevant time is ‘at the time of the invention’.”
This means that for AIA applications, the critical date for assessing whether prior art is enabling is the effective filing date of the claimed invention, not the invention date. This shift aligns with the AIA’s move to a first-inventor-to-file system and can impact how prior art is evaluated in patent examination.
To learn more:
Topics:
MPEP 2100 - Patentability,
MPEP 2121.02 - Compounds And Compositions — What Constitutes Enabling Prior Art,
Patent Law,
Patent Procedure