PART II: PROTECTION OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY
TITLE ONE: PROTECTION OF TECHNICAL CREATIONS
CHAPTER ONE: PATENTS OF INVENTION
SECTION ONE: PATENTABILITY OF INVENTION
Article 14: Patentable invention
An invention shall be patentable if:
1° it is new;
2° it involves an inventive step; and
3° it is industrially applicable.
Article 15: Novelty of an invention
An invention shall be new, if it is not anticipated by the prior art.
The prior art shall consist of everything that has been disclosed, anywhere in the world, by
publication in tangible form, by oral disclosure, by use or in any other way, prior to the filing
date or, where appropriate, the priority date of the application claiming the invention.
In accordance with paragraph (2) of this article, a disclosure of the invention shall not be
taken into consideration, if it occurred within 12 months preceding the filing date or, where
appropriate, the priority date of the application, and if it has resulted directly or indirectly
from acts committed by the applicant or his legal predecessor, or from a violation committed
by a third party with regard to the applicant or his legal predecessor.
Article 16: Activity of Invention
An invention shall be considered as an activity of invention if, for a person skilled in the art
and involved in that area, it is obvious there is a progress from the prior art compared to the
patent application in which the invention is claimed, as defined in article 14 (2).
Article 17: Industrial applicability
An invention shall be considered industrially applicable, if its subject matter can be made or
used in any kind of industry. The term “industry” shall be understood in its broadest sense, as
any human economic activity leading to the production of goods and services and shall cover,
in particular, handicrafts, agriculture, fishery and services.