What is the difference between rejections under 35 U.S.C. 102 and 35 U.S.C. 103?
What is the difference between rejections under 35 U.S.C. 102 and 35 U.S.C. 103?
Rejections under 35 U.S.C. 102 and 35 U.S.C. 103 serve different purposes in patent examination:
- 35 U.S.C. 102 (Anticipation): This rejection is used when a single prior art reference discloses every element of the claimed invention. As stated in the MPEP 706, ‘A claim is anticipated only if each and every element as set forth in the claim is found, either expressly or inherently described, in a single prior art reference.’
- 35 U.S.C. 103 (Obviousness): This rejection is applied when the claimed invention is not identically disclosed in a single reference but would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art. The MPEP notes, ‘A rejection based on section 103 of the statute is a statement that the invention is not patentable under 35 U.S.C. 103, accompanied by a discussion of the facts and reasons in support thereof.’
The key difference is that 102 rejections require all elements to be found in a single reference, while 103 rejections can combine multiple references to show obviousness.
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