I do have other things to get done zecs but your response to harvett very informative break down seems to indicate you have no idea what "Prior Art" means and so the EPO have made a very useful link for newbies they even highlighted the important bits to make it really simple. By the way harvett likely has better things to be doing himself but I encouraged him to give a a better breakdown then the echo chamber going on here though @hottod also gave an excellent breakdown as well - good contributors shouldn't be mocked IMO: What is prior art? Prior art is any evidence that your invention is already known. Prior art does not need to exist physically or be commercially available. It is enough that someone, somewhere, sometime previously has described or shown or made something that contains a use of technology that is very similar to your invention. A prehistoric cave painting can be prior art. A piece of technology that is centuries old can be prior art. A previously described idea that cannot possibly work can be prior art. Anything can be prior art. An existing product is the most obvious form of prior art. This can lead many inventors to make a common mistake: just because they cannot find a product containing their invention for sale in any shops, they assume that their invention must be novel. The reality is very different. Many inventions never become products, yet there may be evidence of them somewhere. That evidence - whatever form it may take - will be prior art.
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