2.4.12.2.1 Examples Needed for Clear and Unmistakable Directions

Date Published

A prior art document disclosing a particular range of variables will not anticipate a claim to a narrower range of variables, or a single variable either falling within the previously disclosed range of variables or overlapping the previous range, unless that document also discloses an example of a variable falling within the claimed range. This applies whether or not the claimed invention is allegedly a selection. This is because there are no clear and unmistakable directions for a skilled addressee to select the particular claimed range of variables from the broader range disclosed earlier (see also 2.4.6.3 Clear and Unmistakable Directions).