Federal Circuit Redefines Prior Art Requirements Under § 102(e)/102(a)(2): In re Riggs

Federal Circuit Redefines Prior Art Requirements Under § 102(e)/102(a)(2): In re Riggs

by Dennis Crouch In a significant decision, the Federal Circuit has established a more rigorous test for determining when a published patent application claiming priority to a provisional application can be considered prior art as of its provisional filing date.  In re Riggs, Case No. 2022-1945 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 24, 2025).   The case is decided under pre-AIA 102(e), and so it is not entirely clear whether the same law applies post-AIA. The basic i…