# Novelty

The requirement that an invention must be new — not previously known, used, or disclosed publicly anywhere in the world before the filing date. Under the America Invents Act (2013), the US uses a first-to-file system: the applicant who files first gets priority, regardless of who invented first. Even the inventor can destroy novelty by publicly disclosing the invention more than a year before filing.

**Full entry:** https://patentbrief.org/glossary/novelty

**All patent terms:** https://patentbrief.org/glossary

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_Source: PatentBrief — https://patentbrief.org. A plain-English glossary of US patent terms._