Editing State of the art (section)

=== Patent law ===
{{main|Prior art}}
In the context of [[European patent law|European]] and [[Australian patent law]], the term "state of the art" is a concept used in the process of assessing and asserting [[novelty (patent)|novelty]] and [[inventive step and non-obviousness|inventive step]],<ref>Under the European Patent Convention: {{EPC Article|54}} and {{EPC Article|56}}.</ref> and is a synonym of the expression "prior art".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sreenivasulu |first1=N. S. |last2=Raju |first2=C. B. |year=2008 |title=Biotechnology and Patent Law: Patenting Living Beings |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9-3bWNnOuloC&pg=PA95|location=Noida |publisher=Manupatra |page=95 |isbn=978-81-89542-31-3 |quote=The European Patent Convention uses the term 'state of the art' which is equivalent to prior art}}</ref> In the [[European Patent Convention]] (EPC), "[t]he state of the art shall be held to comprise everything made available to the public by means of a written or oral description, by use, or in any other way, before the date of filing of the European patent application" according to {{EPC Article|54|2}}. Due account should be taken of {{EPC Article|54|3}} as well, but merely for the examination of novelty.

The expression "background art" is also used in certain legal provisions, such as {{EPC Rule|42|1|b) and(c}} (previously {{EPC 1973 Rule|27|1|b) and (c}}), and has the same meaning.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.epo.org/law-practice/case-law-appeals/recent/t820011ep1.html|title=T 0011/82 (Control Circuit) of 15.4.1983|publisher=European Patent Office|quote=Headnote II. The expression 'background art' used in the English text of Rule 27(1)(c) and (d) EPC must have the same meaning as the more familiar expression 'prior art'.|access-date=31 May 2018}}</ref>