Prior art for a patent means same or similar invention (could be in many forms) published or exposed to the public in general before the filing date of the patent. A patent cannot claim something which already exists or is in use generically, for example, Indians' use of slaked lime paste with Paan,* cannot be patented in toto or in similar variants. The premise behind patent system is to reward inventors for unveiling its invention to public. It has to be novel and nonobvious, otherwise, rewarding an inventor with a patent for something that already exists defeats the purpose of patenting.
What is Prior Art and what it is not
Prior art has to be open and public. A trade secret and unpublished work are typically not considered as prior art. The search would include record of previous patents, content from trade journals, academic journals, research reports, catalogs, published creative work and discussions, trade shows, or public use or sales anywhere in the world.
In this big bad world of 7 billion, how does an individual or an organization, sitting in one corner of the world makes sure whether the research and development (R&D) that it is planning to carry out is already developed by someone else or not in another part of the world? What's worse, in many incidents, scientists at the end of their research realize their novel concept was never unique and someone else already has an exclusive right on something which they always thought their own.
History had its many interesting anecdotes on prior art search. Here's a famous one.
Donald Duck & ping pong balls
In December 1965, a freighter ship carrying 5000 sheep sunk in the fresh water harbor of Kuwait. The ship had to be raised quickly from the ocean floor not just for the cost of the vessel but also for the damage to the fresh water. Thousands of sheep getting decomposed posed risk of contaminating Kuwait's drinking water supply. A Danish engineer and inventor, Karl Kroyer was called upon. He and his teammates were able to raise the ship by pumping 27 million tiny inflatable polystyrene like buoyant balls through a tube into the hull of the ship. The plan worked and made headlines across world's media.
For the successful method of ship raising, Kroyer applied for patent in United Kingdom, Germany & Holland. While he received patents from first two countries, his application was rejected by Dutch Patent Office. The office refused the application citing a similar invention in a 1949 Donald Duck comic strip, where Donald and the nephews were shown raising a sunken yacht by filling it with ping pong balls shoved through a tube. The Dutch Patent Office did not find the invention new and denied patent on the evidence of prior art.
What is Prior Art and what it is not
Prior art has to be open and public. A trade secret and unpublished work are typically not considered as prior art. The search would include record of previous patents, content from trade journals, academic journals, research reports, catalogs, published creative work and discussions, trade shows, or public use or sales anywhere in the world.
In this big bad world of 7 billion, how does an individual or an organization, sitting in one corner of the world makes sure whether the research and development (R&D) that it is planning to carry out is already developed by someone else or not in another part of the world? What's worse, in many incidents, scientists at the end of their research realize their novel concept was never unique and someone else already has an exclusive right on something which they always thought their own.
History had its many interesting anecdotes on prior art search. Here's a famous one.
Donald Duck & ping pong balls
In December 1965, a freighter ship carrying 5000 sheep sunk in the fresh water harbor of Kuwait. The ship had to be raised quickly from the ocean floor not just for the cost of the vessel but also for the damage to the fresh water. Thousands of sheep getting decomposed posed risk of contaminating Kuwait's drinking water supply. A Danish engineer and inventor, Karl Kroyer was called upon. He and his teammates were able to raise the ship by pumping 27 million tiny inflatable polystyrene like buoyant balls through a tube into the hull of the ship. The plan worked and made headlines across world's media.
For the successful method of ship raising, Kroyer applied for patent in United Kingdom, Germany & Holland. While he received patents from first two countries, his application was rejected by Dutch Patent Office. The office refused the application citing a similar invention in a 1949 Donald Duck comic strip, where Donald and the nephews were shown raising a sunken yacht by filling it with ping pong balls shoved through a tube. The Dutch Patent Office did not find the invention new and denied patent on the evidence of prior art.