Meanings
- uncountableintellectual propertyIn most systems of patent law, all information that has been made available to the public in any form before a given date that might be relevant to a patent's claims of originality, and to which the patent application is compared to determine if it in fact describes a new invention.
The significance of this language in section 102(e)(2) is that a PCT application can serve as prior art even though the applicant never files in the United States.
2022, Craig Allen Nard, The Law of Patents, Aspen Publishing, →ISBNSynonyms: state of the art
Synonyms & antonyms
nounIn most systems of patent law, all information that has been made available to the public in any form before a given date that might be relevant to a patent's claims of originality, and to which the patent application is compared to determine if it in fact describes a new invention.
Translations
Finnish tekniikan taso
- tekniikan tasoinformation that has been made available to the public — see also state of the art
German Stand der Technik
- Stand der Technikinformation that has been made available to the public — see also state of the art
Cite this entry
prior art. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prior%20art
“prior art.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prior%20art. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “prior art,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prior%20art.
Source: prior art on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.