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

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.

To learn more:

• anticipation by inherency
• ranges
• prior art
• patent law