More specifically, the PTO compares the invention to prior technology, to ensure that the invention is different from prior technology.
Art is and old fashioned word meaning technology.
Prior Art includes any technology that the PTO can use to reject a patent claim . Prior Art can be a perplexing concept. Inventors should understand that their own technology might be Prior Art to their later filed patent application, regardless of whether they can prove that they invented the technology before any other person. Instead, some inventors have a notion that they may safely delay filing a patent application as long as they can prove they were the first to invent. Thus, some inventors, having prepared lab notebooks or other documentation, believe that they may delay filing indefinitely.