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=====Contents=====

  * [[https://www.linuxfoundation.org/#Introduction|1 Introduction]]
    * [[https://www.linuxfoundation.org/#Prior_Art_must_be|1.1 Prior Art must be]]
    * [[https://www.linuxfoundation.org/#The_Prior_Art_has_the_following_properties_associated_with_it|1.2 The Prior Art has the following properties associated with it]]
    * [[https://www.linuxfoundation.org/#Things_easily_showing_a_.22publication_date.22|1.3 Things easily showing a "publication date"]]

======  Introduction ======

In most [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/patent|patent]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/law|laws]], **prior art** or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_the_art|state of the art]] is all [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/information|information]] that has been disclosed to the public in any form before a given date. However, under [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_patent_law|United States Patent Law]], non-public prior art, such as a sale carried out in secret (e.g., under a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non_Disclosure_Agreement|non-disclosure agreement]]), qualifies as prior art in certain circumstances. In [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_patent_law|Europe]], prior art does not include information kept secret, whether from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/trade_secret|trade secrecy]] or just a simple lack of interest in publication. ([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prior_art|cited from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prior_Art]])

  * **60 minutes easy listening introduction on Prior Art**
  * Slides: [[http://www.pubpat.org/Finding_Prior_Art/PUBPAT%20Finding%20Prior%20Art%20Slides.pdf|http://www.pubpat.org/Finding_Prior_Art/PUBPAT%20Finding%20Prior%20Art%20Slides.pdf]]
  * Audio Portion of Finding Prior Art for an Issued Patent Program - ca. 60 minutes [[http://www.pubpat.org/Finding_Prior_Art/Finding%20Prior%20Art%20-%20PUBPAT.ogg|OGG]] 39MB / [[http://www.pubpat.org/Finding_Prior_Art/Finding%20Prior%20Art%20-%20PUBPAT.mp3|MP3]] 44MB
=====  Prior Art must be =====

  *  Published publically (this includes web publishing)
  *  Understandable by a person of regular skill in the field.
=====  The Prior Art has the following properties associated with it =====

  *  Author
  *  Publication date (not necessarily the public publication date?)
  *  The art itself (or a reference to it, if copyright considerations prohibit including the art itself)
  *  If the art itself is not understandable by a person of regular skill in the field, it must be accompanied by appropriate explanatory material.
=====  Things easily showing a "publication date" =====

  *  version-control archives
  *  mailing list archives
  *  Usenet archives
  *  Books
  *  Magazines
  *  TV-Shows / Videos
  *  Papers
  *  CDs / DVDs
  *  Bills

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