Legal Definitions - enabling source

An enabling source refers to any publicly available information that describes an invention in such detail that a person with expertise in that particular field could have created or used the invention *before* a patent application for it was filed. If such a source exists, it can prevent a new patent from being granted because the invention was already known or discoverable by the public.

Here are some examples:

• Imagine a university professor publishes a comprehensive research paper in a scientific journal, detailing a novel process for creating a highly efficient solar cell. The paper includes precise chemical formulas, manufacturing steps, and performance data. Six months later, a technology company attempts to patent the exact same solar cell manufacturing process. The professor's published paper would serve as an enabling source. It defeats the company's patent application because the detailed information in the paper, available to the public before the company filed its application, would have allowed any expert in solar technology to replicate the invention.

• Consider a software developer who posts a detailed explanation and code snippets for a unique data compression algorithm on a popular programming blog. The post clearly outlines the algorithm's logic, implementation steps, and potential applications. A year later, another developer, unaware of the blog post, independently develops a very similar algorithm and files a patent application. If the original blog post is discovered, it could be considered an enabling source. The detailed information publicly shared on the blog prior to the patent application would enable a skilled programmer to create the algorithm, thus preventing the later patent from being granted.

• Suppose a company in Germany patented a specific type of medical imaging device twenty years ago. The patent has since expired in Germany, making the technology public domain there. A few years later, a different company in the United States, unaware of the old German patent, develops a nearly identical device and seeks a U.S. patent. The original German patent document, which was publicly accessible and contained all the necessary technical details, would act as an enabling source. Even though it was from another country and expired, its prior public disclosure of the invention's details would prevent the U.S. company from obtaining a new patent for essentially the same technology.