The Prior Art Finder identifies the double patenting, §102, and §103 patent prior art references considered in prosecution and post-grant proceedings. The potential prior art identified are based on the various degrees of correlating citations that extend from the patent.
Prior Art Finder — 1st Degree Art / 2nd Degree Art
Examine the correlation to the patent through the Applicability and Legal Basis information.
- §102 prior art indicates those found with novelty issues.
- §103 prior art indicates those found with non-obviousness issues.
Note: The prior art references listed in Prior Art Finder are those listed as primary references in prosecution and post-grant proceedings.
Prior Art Finder — N Degree Art
Expand the citations based on double patenting, § 102, or § 103 rejections to find the next degree of citations. Select any prior art references in the lists to find its Nth degree prior art reference. You can examine backward and forward citations up to the sixth degree in Quality Insights.
- Manually select up to 20 specific degree prior art references or click "Select Top 20 Patents In List."
- Click “Confirm.” Repeat this process up to the 6th degree prior art.
Note: The number of prior art references seen on the Overview page includes prior art up to the 3rd degree.
For more details on the Prior Art Finder page, please see the Prior Art Finder article in Patentcloud’s Help Center.