Intellectual Property Code
Section 24. Prior Art. - Prior art shall consist of:
24.1. Everything which has been made available to the public anywhere in the world, before the filing date or the priority date of the application claiming the invention; and
24.2. The whole contents of an application for a patent, utility model, or industrial design registration, published in accordance with this Act, filed or effective in the Philippines, with a filing or priority date that is earlier than the filing or priority date of the application: Provided, That the application which has validly claimed the filing date of an earlier application under Section 31 of this Act, shall be prior art with effect as of the filing date of such earlier application: Provided further, That the applicant or the inventor identified in both applications are not one and the same. (Sec. 9, R.A. No. 165a)