• Laws establish patentable inventions.Design image by Design from Fotolia.com
  
  Patenting an invention in a timely and legal manner is essential for the inventor. A design defined as "prior art" means the state of knowledge relative to that design already existing or publicly available, according to the book "Patent It Yourself." The realm of prior art can interfere with an inventor's patent application, thus understanding the laws regarding prior art and patents will support an inventor's claim.
  
  

Prior Art Basics: Novelty

• A design not in conflict with prior art and eligible for a patent must be currently novel, or physically different from all designs and knowledge prior to the design being considered for a patent.
  
  

Legal Definition: Date of Invention

• While it may seem that an inventor's date of invention is when she files a patent application, the United States has a "first-to-invent" patent system that is different from other nations' "first-to-file" system. If an inventor can prove the conception for manifestation of her invention at a date earlier than filing a patent application, that date will constitute the date of invention in the United States, which will make it less likely in conflict with prior art.
  
  

Prior Art Specifics

• If another inventor has already manifested and used her invention in any part of the world, or if a description of her invention has been printed anywhere outside of the United States, then those circumstances denote prior art which prevents another inventor patenting a similar design in the United States.
  
  Further, if a description of an invention has already been published anywhere in the world, or if a design is already in use or for sale in the United States at least one year prior to filing for a patent of a similar design, then those situations constitute prior art and prevent any similar designs from being patented.
  
  

Legal Definition: Published Information

• Information describing a design that has been published in already-existing patent applications, books, magazines, trade journals, publicly available technical papers or schematics qualifies as prior art, and precludes others from patenting the design within the legal parameters described above.
  
  

Foreign Patents

• If an inventor files for a patent application outside of the United States. at least a year before filing in the United States, her invention will be considered prior art and she will be denied the patent.