Guidelines for Examination
PART C
CHAPTER IV PATENTABILITY
7. Novelty
7.4 Generic disclosure and specific examples
 

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PART C
CHAPTER IV PATENTABILITYCHAPTER IV PATENTABILITY
7. Novelty7. Novelty
  7.3a Enabling disclosure of a prior document7.3a Enabling disclosure of a prior document     7.5 Implicit disclosure and parameters7.5 Implicit disclosure and parameters  
 

7.4

Generic disclosure and specific examples

 

In considering novelty, it should be borne in mind that a generic disclosure does not usually take away the novelty of any specific example falling within the terms of that disclosure, but that a specific disclosure does take away the novelty of a generic claim embracing that disclosure, e.g. a disclosure of copper takes away the novelty of metal as a generic concept, but not the novelty of any metal other than copper, and one of rivets takes away the novelty of fastening means as a generic concept, but not the novelty of any fastening other than rivets.