What is the scope of prior art available under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(e)?
Under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(e), the entire disclosure of certain U.S. patents, patent application publications, or international application publications can be used as prior art against patent claims. As stated in the MPEP:
“Under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(e), the entire disclosure of a U.S. patent, a U.S. patent application publication, or an international application publication having an earlier effective U.S. filing date (which will include certain international filing dates) can be relied on to reject the claims.”
This means that any content within these documents, not just the claims, can potentially be used to reject patent claims if the document has an earlier effective filing date than the application being examined.
To learn more:
Topics:
MPEP 2100 - Patentability,
MPEP 2136.02 - Content Of The Prior Art Available Against The Claims,
Patent Law,
Patent Procedure