What is a prima facie case of unpatentability?
A prima facie case of unpatentability is a legal concept used in patent examination. According to MPEP 724, it is defined as follows:
A prima facie case of unpatentability is established when the information compels a conclusion that a claim is unpatentable under the preponderance of evidence, burden-of-proof standard, giving each term in the claim its broadest reasonable construction consistent with the specification, and before any consideration is given to evidence which may be submitted in an attempt to establish a contrary conclusion of patentability.
In simpler terms, a prima facie case of unpatentability exists when the available information, on its face, suggests that a patent claim is not patentable. This determination is made before considering any counterarguments or additional evidence the applicant might provide to support patentability.
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