Trilateral Project 24.1-Biotechnology 057

There may be no practical difference between the level of skill in the art for assessing an inventive step and for assessing sufficiency of description. However, all published articles or patents prior to the filing date or invention date may be relied upon in evaluations of obviousness (inventive step) whereas only those articles or patents well known to the art would be available to supplement the disclosure so as to provide enablement of the invention. In re Howarth, 654 F.2d 103, 107, 210 USPQ 689, 692-93 (CCPA 1981).