non-obviousness
Not immediately apparent
Non-obviousness is a legal requirement for patent eligibility: an invention must not be an obvious extension of existing knowledge to someone skilled in the relevant field.
A combination of known elements isn't patentable if the result would be predictable to experts.
The patent was rejected for lack of non-obviousness.
The standard prevents patents on trivial improvements.
Eligibility for invention protection
- prior artPre-existing technical knowledge
- USPTOFederal intellectual property agency
- noveltyQuality of being original
- claimsStatements of truth
examination · commercial success · hindsight bias · prosecution · patent office · examiner · combination · motivation
Novel creative quality
- ingenuityClever, original thinking
- inventivenessCapacity for original creation
- unconventionalDeparting from standard practice
- unexpectedNot anticipated beforehand
surprising · innovative · fresh perspective · lateral thinking · outside the box · novelty · uniqueness · unorthodox
patentability
Eligibility for invention protection
- prior artPre-existing technical knowledge
- USPTOFederal intellectual property agency
- noveltyQuality of being original
claims · examination · commercial success · hindsight bias · prosecution · patent office · examiner · combination · motivation · prima facie
originality
Novel creative quality
- ingenuityClever, original thinking
- inventivenessCapacity for original creation
- unconventionalDeparting from standard practice
unexpected · surprising · innovative · fresh perspective · lateral thinking · outside the box · novelty · uniqueness · unorthodox · counterintuitive
inference
Conclusion reached through reasoning
indirect · complex · nuanced · obscure · elusive · counterintuitive · paradox · implicit · underlying · latent
non-obviousnessobviousness
State of being evident
predictability · self-evidence · transparency · clarity · plainness
non-obviousnessobviousness
State of being evident
triviality · banality · conventionality · straightforwardness · predictability