An invention is said to be novel if all elements of a claim of the invention are not anticipated by a single prior art that is published, or used or known to the public.
An inventive step is said to be present in your invention when it has a technical advance as compared to the existing knowledge that is state of the art of your field of the invention or it has economic significance or you invention has both such that it makes your invention non-obvious to a person skilled in the art. So, we need to identify a feature of our invention that is either technically advance or it is economically significant or both, when it is compared to state of the art or existing knowledge such that our invention becomes non-obvious to a person skilled in the art.
Technical advance means some feature of the invention is having advancement which is technical in nature as compared to the existing knowledge. A person skilled in the art is a person who has average skills from your domain.
For example, if your invention is related to a mechanical device, the person skilled in the art would be from a mechanical background. If there are multiple technologies used in the invention then a person skilled in the art is assumed to have all the knowledge that is available and known to the public from the technologies involved. This is to assess the inventiveness of the invention.
The idea here is our invention should not be obvious to a person skilled in the art that is an average person from a background of the field of the invention. In other words, considering the state of the art things are already known to the public and assuming the person skilled in the art does not have any knowledge about our invention, if that person skilled in the art was asked to solve the problem that our invention solves , then our invention should not come as a natural suggestion by that person skilled in the art.
Which ultimately means invention should not be obvious. One of the main requirements for filing a patent application is that the invention must be new. On the Internet, there are a number of websites which allow you to search patent databases to find out what inventions already exist. Several links are available on our website www. You may search on keywords in titles or patent abstracts, or on the name of the patent owner, the inventor, the publication number or date.
We recommend the following websites:. Furthermore, the Dutch government also provides information and services on patents on a smaller level. Take a look at the website of The Netherlands Enterprise Agency for more information. What are you looking for? Stay informed and subscribe to our newsletter. Examples of patented inventions include the multifunctional pushchair that can be adjusted to diverse angles, the storm-proof umbrella Senz, the Senseo coffeemaker, the clap skate, and Dutch crispbakes beschuit with indentations.
If the Netherlands Patent Office grants the patent, the technology will be made public in the patent databases and registers. Companies can consult these to see if the technology they wish to develop has already been patented. They can also see which of their competitors are already doing research and development work on a particular technology. A patent is a national right. You may also decide to apply for a European patent or for one that applies worldwide.
From onwards, a single patent will apply to the Netherlands and throughout the EU.
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