---
title: "Build a prior-art table for novelty and the duty of disclosure"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/build-a-prior-art-hit-table-for-novelty-inventive-step-or-non-obviousnes/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A23-T1-R1-US"
practice_area: "Intellectual Property — Patents, Trade Marks, Copyright, Designs"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Build a prior-art table for novelty and the duty of disclosure

> From the references the lawyer supplies, record the publication date, the effective filing date used, and the feature the reference is said to show, with a pin. Call nothing prior art.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/build-a-prior-art-hit-table-for-novelty-inventive-step-or-non-obviousnes/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Intellectual Property — Patents, Trade Marks, Copyright, Designs](https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | From the references the lawyer supplies, record the publication date, the effective filing date used, and the feature the reference is said to show, with a pin. Call nothing prior art. |
| What the lawyer must review | You decide what is material and what is disclosed to the Office. 35 U.S.C. § 102(a) treats as prior art a claimed invention that was patented, described in a printed publication, in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date, and certain earlier patent filings that name another inventor. Section 102(b) states the one-year exceptions. 37 CFR § 1.56: each individual associated with filing and prosecution must disclose information known to be material to patentability. The USPTO's 11 April 2024 guidance: AI output is checked before it is filed, and use of an AI tool is disclosed if it is material under § 1.56(b). |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Build a prior-art hit table for novelty, inventive step or non-obviousness](https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/build-a-prior-art-hit-table-for-novelty-inventive-step-or-non-obviousnes.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: From the references the lawyer supplies, record the publication date, the effective filing date used, and the feature the reference is said to show, with a pin. Call nothing prior art.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- Do not dump an unreviewed search into an information-disclosure statement. The April 2024 guidance warns that unchecked AI use can swell IDS filings.
- Non-obviousness is 35 U.S.C. § 103. This table is the § 102 and § 1.56 record. Open § 103 before you advise on obviousness.

## Sources

- [35 U.S.C. § 102 (conditions for patentability; novelty)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/35/102) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [37 CFR § 1.56 (duty to disclose information material to patentability)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/37/1.56) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [USPTO, Guidance on Use of Artificial Intelligence-Based Tools in Practice Before the USPTO (11 April 2024)](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/04/11/2024-07629/guidance-on-use-of-artificial-intelligence-based-tools-in-practice-before-the-united-states-patent) (checked 2026-10-22)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Prior-art table for a standard patent](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/standard-patent-prior-art-table.md) | Checklist | Yellow | Table of prior art against the standard-patent requirements in section 18(1). It does not say the invention is patentable, and it is not a filing at the office. |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*