The fact that no-one has followed a particular path before does not of course dispose of an objection of obviousness; otherwise any invention which was new would automatically be inventive. However, the reasons why this has not been done before may well be important, in establishing inventive step. The following conditions play a pivotal role in determining the inventive step with respect to the long felt need.

• If the inventor has solved a long-standing problem by using in a conventional way the materials or techniques which have only recently become available then this is not inventive.

• It is also not inventive to respond to a change in economic circumstances. For example if a product has not been made from a particular material or by a particular process for reason of cost, and the material or process becomes cheaper or the market value of the product increases, it is not inventive to take advantage of this.

• If a newly- arisen problem is solved by the use of available resources in an obvious way, then there is no inventive step (unless the inventor has been the first to identify the problem).

• But if the inventor has solved a long-recognized problem by means which others could have used but did not, then there may be an inventive step.