What does “anticipated by the prior art” mean in the context of novelty assessment?

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.

In the context of novelty assessment for international patent applications, “anticipated by the prior art” refers to the situation where an invention is not considered novel because it has already been disclosed in the prior art. The PCT Article 33(2) states:

“For the purposes of the international preliminary examination, a claimed invention shall be considered novel if it is not anticipated by the prior art as defined in the Regulations.”

This means that if all the elements of a claimed invention are found in a single prior art document or disclosure, the invention is considered to be anticipated and therefore lacks novelty. The specific definition of prior art is provided in the PCT Regulations.