inherency doctrine
inherency doctrine. Patents. The rule that anticipation can be inferred despite a missing element in a prior-art reference if the missing element is either necessarily present in or a natural result of the product or process and a person of ordinary skill in the art would know it. • On one hand, the doctrine precludes patenting an existing invention by merely claiming an inherent element. On the other hand, it allows the later patentability of a substance, usu. a chemical compound, that was inadvertently created but not recognized or appreciated. See INHERENT ANTICIPATION. [Cases: Patents 65. C.J.S. Patents § 49.]
