The priority date of a patent application is crucial in determining the priority rights and novelty of an invention.

The priority date is the date on which a patent application is deemed to have been filed. It establishes the timeline for assessing the novelty and prior art of the invention. The priority date determines the order of priority among multiple patent applications for the same invention. It establishes the effective filing date for evaluating the novelty and inventive step of the invention.

To establish a priority date, an applicant can make a priority claim based on an earlier-filed application.

When determining patentability, the examiner compares the claimed invention to the prior art available before the priority date. Any disclosures made or published after the priority date are considered irrelevant to the novelty assessment. An applicant may have multiple priority claims if there are earlier applications disclosing related inventions. Each priority claim establishes a separate priority date for the respective invention.

To support the priority claim, a priority document is typically required. The priority document is a copy of the earlier application, including the specification, drawings, and claims.

Understanding the priority date and effectively claiming priority rights is essential for protecting the novelty and patentability of an invention.