obviousness

Obviousness refers to the quality of being easily perceived, understood, or deduced. In law, it is a criterion used to assess whether an invention is sufficiently non-obvious to warrant patent protection. The term is most commonly encountered in patent theory, where obviousness can render a claimed invention unpatentable.

In the United States, obviousness is governed by patent law and codified at 35 U.S.C. § 103. The standard requires that a claimed invention not be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) at the time the invention was made, in view of prior art. The typical analysis, following judicial precedent such as Graham v. John Deere Co., involves identifying the scope and content of prior art; determining the differences between the prior art and the claim; and assessing whether those differences would have been obvious to a PHOSITA in light of the prior art, using a motivation or reason to combine references with a reasonable expectation of success. Courts also consider objective indicia of non-obviousness, or secondary considerations, such as commercial success, long-felt need, failure of others, and copying.

In Europe, the equivalent requirement is the inventive step, assessed under the European Patent Convention. The inventive step approach asks whether the invention would be obvious to a skilled person in the art, considering the prior art as a whole. If the invention would be obvious, it fails the standard.

Critics note that the concept is inherently assessment-based and can be subjective, varying with the assumed capabilities of a PHOSITA and the selection of prior art. The interplay between novelty and non-obviousness also shapes patent strategies and innovation incentives.