Guidelines for Examination
PART C
CHAPTER IV PATENTABILITY
7. Novelty
7.2 Implicit features or well-known equivalents
 

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PART C
CHAPTER IV PATENTABILITYCHAPTER IV PATENTABILITY
7. Novelty7. Novelty
  7.1 State of the art pursuant to Art. 54(2)7.1 State of the art pursuant to Art. 54(2)     7.3 Relevant date of a prior document7.3 Relevant date of a prior document  
 

7.2

Implicit features or well-known equivalents

 

A document takes away the novelty of any claimed subject-matter derivable directly and unambiguously from that document including any features implicit to a person skilled in the art in what is expressly mentioned in the document, e.g. a disclosure of the use of rubber in circumstances where clearly its elastic properties are used even if this is not explicitly stated takes away the novelty of the use of an elastic material. The limitation to subject-matter "derivable directly and unambiguously" from the document is important. Thus, when considering novelty, it is not correct to interpret the teaching of a document as embracing well-known equivalents which are not disclosed in the documents; this is a matter of obviousness.