Conditions for patentability; non-obvious subject matter

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Title 35—PATENTS > PART II—PATENTABILITY OF INVENTIONS AND GRANT OF PATENTS > CHAPTER 10—PATENTABILITY OF INVENTIONS

This text was captured on Sep 9, 2026. It is a snapshot, not a live feed, so check the official code before relying on it.

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A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.

( July 19, 1952, ch. 950 , 66 Stat. 798 ; Pub. L. 98–622, title I, § 103 , Nov. 8, 1984 , 98 Stat. 3384 ; Pub. L. 104–41, § 1 , Nov. 1, 1995 , 109 Stat. 351 ; Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(9) [title IV, § 4807(a)] , Nov. 29, 1999 , 113 Stat. 1536 , 1501A–591; Pub. L. 108–453, § 2 , Dec. 10, 2004 , 118 Stat. 3596 ; Pub. L. 112–29 , §§ 3(c), 20(j), Sept. 16, 2011 , 125 Stat. 287 , 335.)

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