Novelty of Inventions for Use of Chemical Products
Novelty of Inventions for Use of Chemical Products
The invention of the use of a new product is naturally novel because the product is new.
A known chemical products cannot be considered a new chemical products because it proposes a new application. For example, chemical products X is known as a detergent, then a chemical products X used as a plasticizer is not novel. However, if a new use of a known chemical products is itself an invention, the known chemical products cannot undermine the novelty of the new use. Such a use invention belongs to a method of use invention, because the essence of the invention lies not in the chemical products itself, but in how to use it. For example, the above-mentioned chemical products X, which was originally used as a detergent, was later researched and found that it can be used as a plasticizer after being mixed with some additives. Then how to formulate, what additives to choose, how much to mix, etc. are the technical characteristics of the method of use. At this time, the examiner should evaluate whether the method of use itself has novelty, and cannot determine that the method of use does not have novelty based on the fact that chemical products X is known.
For inventions for medicinal uses involving chemical chemical productss, the examination of novelty should consider the following:
(1) Whether the new use is substantially different from the original known use. Inventions that are only different in the form of expression but substantially belong to the same purpose are not novel.
(2) Whether the new use is directly revealed by the mechanism of action and pharmacological action of the previously known use. Uses that are directly equivalent to the original mechanism of action or pharmacological effects are not novel.
(3) Whether the new use belongs to the superordinate concept of the original known use. The lower use is known to destroy the novelty of the upper use.
(4) Whether the use-related characteristics such as the administration object, administration mode, route, dosage and time interval have a limiting effect on the pharmaceutical process. Distinguishing features only manifested in the course of administration do not make the use novel.
