Legal Definitions - Section 102 rejection

A Section 102 rejection is when a patent examiner finds that a claim in a patent application is not new or novel. This means that the invention has already been disclosed or made public in some way, so it cannot be patented.

For example, if someone tries to patent a new type of phone case, but someone else has already patented a similar phone case, the patent examiner may issue a Section 102 rejection.

Another example is if someone tries to patent an invention that they have already made public, such as by publishing a description of it online or presenting it at a conference. In this case, the patent examiner may also issue a Section 102 rejection.

Overall, a Section 102 rejection is a way for the patent office to ensure that only truly new and innovative inventions are granted patents.