35 U.S.C. § 103 - CONDITIONS FOR PATENTABILITY; NON-OBVIOUS SUBJECT MATTER
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102 , if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
(Amended Nov. 8, 1984, Public Law 98-622, sec. 103, 98 Stat. 3384; Nov. 1, 1995, Public Law 104-41, sec.1, 109 Stat. 3511; subsection (c) amended Nov. 29, 1999, Public Law 106-113, sec. 1000(a)(9), 113 Stat. 1501A-591 (S. 1948 sec. 4807); subsection (c) amended Dec. 10, 2004, Public Law 108-453, sec. 2, 118 Stat. 3596; amended Sept. 16, 2011, Public Law 112-29, secs. 20(j) (effective Sept. 16, 2012) and 3(c) (effective March 16, 2013), 125 Stat. 284.)
(Public Law 112-29, sec. 14, 125 Stat. 284 (Sept. 16, 2011) provided that tax strategies are deemed to be within the prior art (see AIA § 14 ).)