What is the “anticipation by inherency” doctrine in patent law?

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.

The “anticipation by inherency” doctrine in patent law refers to situations where a prior art reference does not explicitly disclose a claimed feature, but that feature is inherently present in the prior art. This concept is particularly relevant when dealing with ranges in patent claims.

According to MPEP 2112: “The inherent teaching of a prior art reference, a question of fact, arises both in the context of anticipation and obviousness.”

In the context of ranges:

• If a prior art reference discloses a range that fully encompasses the claimed range, it may inherently anticipate the claimed range.
• The examiner must provide a rationale or evidence to show that the claimed range is inherently disclosed by the prior art.
• The applicant can rebut this by showing that the claimed range produces unexpected results or has critical properties not found in the prior art range.