这三个术语是指美国等西方专利法（patent law)所规定的申请专利的二大基本要件（three basic requirements of patentability[1])。其中，utility为“实用性”，指能够履行要求作为知识产权保护之发明主张的功能或达到其效果（capacity to perform a function or attain a result claimed for protection as intellectual property[2] ) ; nonobviousness为“非显而易见性”，指发明必须不同于先前的技术，对发明领域具有通常技术的人而言其必须是非显而易见的（The requirement that is quality must be demonstrated for an invention to be patentable. Nonobviousness may be demonstrated with evidence concerning prior art or with other objective evidence, such as commercial success or professional approval[3] ) ；novelty则为“新颖性”，指发明在形式（form)、功能（function)或性能(perfonnance)几方面必须新颖，且不能在先前已经取得专利，或出版说明或为他人所知或使用（If the invention has been previously patented，described in a publication，or known or used by others, it is not novel[4] ) 。

[1]参见李荣甫、宋雷主编：《法律英语教程》，法律出版社1999年版，第119 ~ 121 页。"In patent law，utility is one of the three basic requirements of patentability, the others being nonobviousness and novelty" , Cf. Bryan A. Gamer, Black's Law Dictionary t 7th edition，at p. 1544, West Group (1999).

[2] Cf. Bryan A. Gamer, Black's Law Dictionary, 7th edition, at p. 1544, West Group (1999).

[3] Id. at p. 1079.

[4] Cf. USCA, Section 102 p. 35. 

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