Meaning of the word state of the art

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The state of the art (sometimes cutting edge or leading edge) refers to the highest level of general development, as of a device, technique, or scientific field achieved at a particular time. However, in some contexts it can also refer to a level of development reached at any particular time as a result of the common methodologies employed at the time.

The term has been used since 1910, and has become both a common term in advertising and marketing, and a legally significant phrase with respect to both patent law and tort liability.

In advertising, the phrase is often used to convey that a product is made with the best or latest available technology, but it has been noted that «the term ‘state of the art’ requires little proof on the part of advertisers», as it is considered mere puffery.[1] The use of the term in patent law «does not connote even superiority, let alone the superlative quality the ad writers would have us ascribe to the term».[2]

Origin and history[edit]

The origin of the concept of «state of the art» took place in the beginning of the 20th century.[3] The earliest use of the term «state of the art» documented by the Oxford English Dictionary dates back to 1910, from an engineering manual by Henry Harrison Suplee (1856 – after 1943), an engineering graduate (University of Pennsylvania, 1876), titled The Gas Turbine: Progress in the Design and Construction of Turbines Operated by Gases of Combustion. The relevant passage reads: «In the present state of the art this is all that can be done».[4] The term «art» refers to technics, rather than performing or fine arts.[5]

Over time, use of the term increased in all fields where this kind of art has a significant role.[6] In this relation it has been quoted by the author that «although eighteenth-century writers did not use the term, there was indeed in existence a collection of scientific and engineering knowledge and expertise that can be identified as the state of the art for that time».[6]

Despite its actual meaning, which does not convey technology that is ahead of the industry, the phrase became so widely used in advertising that a 1985 article described it as «overused», stating that «[it] has no punch left and actually sounds like a lie».[7] A 1994 essay listed it among «the same old tired clichés» that should be avoided in advertising.[8]

Legal importance[edit]

Patent law[edit]

In the context of European and Australian patent law, the term «state of the art» is a concept used in the process of assessing and asserting novelty and inventive step,[9] and is a synonym of the expression «prior art».[10] In the European Patent Convention (EPC), «[t]he state of the art shall be held to comprise everything made available to the public by means of a written or oral description, by use, or in any other way, before the date of filing of the European patent application» according to Article 54(2) EPC. Due account should be taken of Article 54(3) EPC as well, but merely for the examination of novelty.

The expression «background art» is also used in certain legal provisions, such as Rule 42(1)(b) and(c) EPC (previously Rule 27(1)(b) and (c) EPC 1973), and has the same meaning.[11]

Tort liability[edit]

The state of the art is important in the law of tort liability, specifically in the areas of negligence and product liability. With respect to negligence, «an engineer may defend against a claim of negligence by contending that he met the standards of his profession and the state of the art».[12] With respect to product liability, manufacturers generally have strict liability for any injury caused by defects in their products. However, in some jurisdictions a manufacturer may raise as a legal defense the assertion that their product represents the «state of the art», and that the manufacturer therefore could not have made the product any safer in light of the knowledge available at the time.[13] For example, «[u]nder German law, the producer can also raise the state-of-the-art defense: general tort law does not hold him liable if he could not know or discover the defect for lack of fault, and the Product Liability Statute expressly provides for this defense».[14] This defense is available throughout the European Community under the Product Liability Directive, art. 7(e). Pursuant to this article:

The state-of-the-art defense allows a defendant to be absolved of liability if he can prove that the state of technical and scientific knowledge, at the time when he put the product into circulation, was not such as to enable the existence of the defect to be discovered. The Directive allows Member States to eliminate the state-of-the-art defense, but only Luxembourg, which has little manufacturing industry, has done so.[15]

In the United States, the state of an industry is «merely evidence of due care rather than a controlling factor»,[16] but a number of states have state-of-the-art statutes that «make a manufacturer’s compliance with technological feasibility an absolute defense to a products liability suit».[16] Because the state of the art is constantly advancing, the ability of manufacturers to claim that their products are «state-of-the-art» tracks their potential liability when these products are defective. As an industry magazine explained in 1984:

Remote control rear view mirrors, disc brakes, automatic slack adjusters for drum brakes and sealed lighting systems are just a few examples of products that have advanced the state of the art. When one of these gains a degree of industry acceptance, it begins to bridge a legal gap between what is state of the art from a design standpoint, and what is state of the art from a usage standpoint. This could place a carrier in a vulnerable position in the not too distant future.[17]

See also[edit]

  • Bleeding edge
  • Emerging technologies (List of emerging technologies)
  • Innovation
  • Luxury goods
  • Proof of concept

References[edit]

  1. ^ Borchers, Timothy A. (2022). Persuasion in the Media Age (4th ed.). Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press. p. 82. ISBN 978-1-4786-4691-4.
  2. ^ Smith, Jack (15 June 1988). «Is ‘State of the Art’ Patently Ill Defined?». Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  3. ^ Haase, Fee-Alexandra (2010). «‘The State of the Art’ as an Example for a Textual Linguistic ‘Globalization Effect’. Code Switching, Borrowing, and Change of Meaning as Conditions of Cross-cultural Communication» (PDF). Revista de Divulgação Científica em Língua Portuguesa, Linguística e Literatura. 6 (13). ISSN 1807-5193. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  4. ^ Suplee, Henry Harrison (1910). The Gas Turbine: Progress in the Design and Construction of Turbines Operated by Gases of Combustion. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company. p. 6.
  5. ^ George Washington used the term in a letter to Lafayette (29 January 1798). Washington distinguished commerce from useful arts by stating, «While our commerce has been considerably curtailed, for want of that extensive credit formerly given in Europe, and for default of remittance; the useful arts have been almost imperceptibly pushed to a considerable degree of perfection». Fitzpatrick, John C., ed. (1939). The Writings of Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745–1799. Vol. 30. Washington: United States Government Printing Office. p. 186. Other literary sources are collected in the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Supplemental Brief in In re Bilski, p. 11 n.4 (useful arts are manufacturing processes).
  6. ^ a b Anderson, John D., Jr. (1998). A History of Aerodynamics and Its Impact on Flying Machines. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-521-66955-9.
  7. ^ Executive (1985), Vol. 27, p. 56.[full citation needed]
  8. ^ Zweig, Mark C. (2010) [11 July 1994]. «Better Writing». Management from A to Zweig: The Complete Works of Mark Zweig. Fayetteville, Arkansas: ZweigWhite. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-60950-017-7.
  9. ^ Under the European Patent Convention: Article 54 EPC and Article 56 EPC.
  10. ^ Sreenivasulu, N. S.; Raju, C. B. (2008). Biotechnology and Patent Law: Patenting Living Beings. Noida: Manupatra. p. 95. ISBN 978-81-89542-31-3. The European Patent Convention uses the term ‘state of the art’ which is equivalent to prior art
  11. ^ «T 0011/82 (Control Circuit) of 15.4.1983». European Patent Office. Retrieved 31 May 2018. Headnote II. The expression ‘background art’ used in the English text of Rule 27(1)(c) and (d) EPC must have the same meaning as the more familiar expression ‘prior art’.
  12. ^ Cleland, David I.; Kocaoglu, Dundar F. (1981). Brown, Julienne V.; Maisel, J. W. (eds.). Engineering Management. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 440. ISBN 978-0-07-011316-9.
  13. ^ Rufe, Philip D. (2013). Fundamentals of Manufacturing (3rd ed.). Dearborn, Michigan: Society of Manufacturing Engineers. p. 209. ISBN 978-0-87263-870-9.
  14. ^ Zekoll, Joachim; Reimann, Mathias, eds. (2005). Introduction to German Law. Kluwer Law International. p. 220. ISBN 978-90-411-2261-2.
  15. ^ Bergkamp, Lucas (2003). European Community Law for the New Economy. Intersentia. p. 440. ISBN 978-90-5095-229-3.
  16. ^ a b Vandall, Frank J. (2011). A History of Civil Litigation: Political and Economic Perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-19-539191-6.
  17. ^ Standley, Gerald F. (October 1984). «Don’t ignore a ‘safer alternative’«. Commercial Carrier Journal. Vol. 141, no. 10. p. 7. ISSN 0734-1423.

External links[edit]

  • Regarding the patent law concept, see for example:
    • Guidelines for Examination in the EPO, section g—iv : «State of the art»
    • Legal Research Service for the Boards of Appeal, European Patent Office, Case Law of the Boards of Appeal of the EPO (9th edition, July 2019), i.c.2 : «State of the art»
Источник

  • 1
    state-of-the-art

    Англо-русский толковый словарь терминов и сокращений по ВТ, Интернету и программированию. > state-of-the-art

  • 2
    state-of-the-art

    state-of-the-art [ˏsteɪtevðɪˊɑ:t]

    a

    совреме́нный, передово́й

    Англо-русский словарь Мюллера > state-of-the-art

  • 3
    state of the art

    state of the art
    n

    Англо-русский строительный словарь.
    .
    2011.

    Англо-русский словарь строительных терминов > state of the art

  • 4
    state-of-the-art

    English-Russian short dictionary > state-of-the-art

  • 5
    state of the art

    1. уровень развития техники
    2. внедрения (патент.)

    Англо-русский словарь нормативно-технической терминологии > state of the art

  • 6
    state-of-the-art

    Англо-русский синонимический словарь > state-of-the-art

  • 7
    state-of-the-art

    Дословно переводится как «состояние искусства» и употребляется как имя прилагательное, обозначая «самый современный», «последний», «наилучший», «пик прогресса». Выражение применяется при описании всякого рода машин, аппаратуры, оборудования.

    His car/stereo equipment/computer has all the latest state-of-the art refinements. — Его машина/стереоустановка/компьютер является последним словом техники.

    English-Russian dictionary of expressions > state-of-the-art

  • 8
    state-of-the-art

    Большой англо-русский и русско-английский словарь > state-of-the-art

  • 9
    state-of-the-art

    современный технический уровень || современного технического уровня

    English-Russian dictionary of mechanical engineering and automation > state-of-the-art

  • 10
    state-of-the-art

    [͵steıtəvðıʹɑ:t]

    книжн.

    достигнутый, реальный, внедрённый ()

    state-of-the-art commercial computers — компьютеры, производимые в промышленном масштабе

    НБАРС > state-of-the-art

  • 11
    state-of-the-art

    суперсовременный

    State-of-the-art computer graphics show how your kitchen could be transformed.

    Англо-русский словарь идиом и фразовых глаголов > state-of-the-art

  • 12
    state-of-the-art

    [ˌsteɪtəvðɪ’ɑːt]

    прил.

    новейший, передовой; находящийся на уровне современного развития; соответствующий последнему слову техники

    Англо-русский современный словарь > state-of-the-art

  • 13
    state-of-the-art

    a книжн. достигнутый, реальный, внедрённый

    English-Russian base dictionary > state-of-the-art

  • 14
    state-of-the-art

    современный; современное состояние

    English-Russian big medical dictionary > state-of-the-art

  • 15
    state of the art

    современный уровень развития; современное состояние

    state of art — уровень развития науки на; данном этапе

    English-Russian dictionary on nuclear energy > state of the art

  • 16
    state of the art

    English-Russian dictionary of Information technology > state of the art

  • 17
    state of the art

    книжн. современное состояние, положение дел

    English-Russian base dictionary > state of the art

  • 18
    state of the art

    современный; современное состояние

    English-Russian big medical dictionary > state of the art

  • 19
    state of the art

    Большой англо-русский и русско-английский словарь > state of the art

  • 20
    state-of the-art

    Большой англо-русский и русско-английский словарь > state-of the-art

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См. также в других словарях:

  • State of the art — The state of the art is the highest level of development, as of a device, technique, or scientific field, achieved at a particular time. It also applies to the level of development (as of a device, procedure, process, technique, or science)… …   Wikipedia

  • state of the art — Under sections 1 and 2 of the Patents Act 1977, an invention must be new to be patentable. It will not be considered new if the information was disclosed to the public anywhere in the world before the priority date. The few exceptions to this… …   Law dictionary

  • state of the art — state of the art, adj. the latest and most sophisticated or advanced stage of a technology, art, or science. [1960 65] * * * …   Universalium

  • State of the Art — This article is about the Amiga demo, for other uses, see State of the art (disambiguation). .The production of the demo was described in an interview in Amiga disc magazine R.A.W #5. It was created by videotaping footage of a dancer and… …   Wikipedia

  • State of the Art — Mit dem Ausdruck State of the Art bezeichnet man im englischen Sprachraum den höchsten verfügbaren Entwicklungszustand einer bestimmten Technologie. Umgangssprachlich wird damit meist das höchstentwickelte verfügbare technische Gerät (z. B.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • state-of-the-art — {adj. phr.} The best and the latest any field of research can offer; modern; the latest; the most advanced. * /State of the art personal computers may cost a little more than older models, but may be worth the cost for those who need them./… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • state-of-the-art — {adj. phr.} The best and the latest any field of research can offer; modern; the latest; the most advanced. * /State of the art personal computers may cost a little more than older models, but may be worth the cost for those who need them./… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • state of the art — 1. adjective At the highest level of development at a particular time; cutting edge. state of the art technology Syn: SOTA 2. noun The condition of scientific or technical knowledge, particularly the the peak or highest level thereof, at a… …   Wiktionary

  • state of the art — Date: 1910 the level of development (as of a device, procedure, process, technique, or science) reached at any particular time usually as a result of modern methods • state of the art adjective …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • state-of-the-art — adjective see state of the art …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • state-of-the-art — See state of the art. * * * …   Universalium

Источник


Rather than state—of—the—art chapters, they can be better described as products of their authors’ own particular, more specific research agendas.


Recently, many state—of—the—art theorem provers have adopted means of efficient computation on ground constants.


The remaining sections will describe the state—of—the—art information- and knowledge-management practices and technologies (along with their constituents) in use in the construction sector.


This special issue presents the state—of—the—art in methods for robust natural language processing and understanding.


In this section we briefly look at how state—of—the—art agent-oriented methodologies deal with the environment.


The study revealed an appalling level of ignorance on the part of board members about state—of—the—art pain management practice.


These peptides are remarkable in that they were discovered using state—of—the—art molecular techniques before their physiological actions were studied.


Finally, in section 6, we summarise the current state—of—the—art and speculate on important directions in argument-oriented research in knowledge engineering.


This paper summarizes the state—of—the—art in this subject area, and discusses future research directions.


The editors are happy to consider advice on additional journals for abstracting and offers of future state—of—the—art articles.


This issue provides an overview of the state—of—the—art, but it is certainly not the last word.


It achieves state—of—the—art results on this task and is more efficient than other part-of-speech taggers.


Upon entering the exhibit, however, we were each handed a set of headphones for the state—of—the—art audio tour.


In this paper, we present a summary of the state—of—the—art in user profiling in the context of intelligent information agents.


At present, it provides a state—of—the—art probe into the outer limits of the possibilities for ageing.

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Источник

: the level of development (as of a device, procedure, process, technique, or science) reached at any particular time usually as a result of modern methods

state-of-the-art

adjective

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Very low-tech by modern standards, with no lights on it, the ticket booth was state of the art for its day.


—Vince Guerrieri, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Mar. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘state of the art.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1910, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of state of the art was
in 1910

Dictionary Entries Near state of the art

Cite this Entry

“State of the art.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/state%20of%20the%20art. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.

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Merriam-Webster unabridged

Источник

state of the art

n.

The highest level of development, as of a device, technique, or scientific field, achieved at a particular time.

state′-of-the-art′ adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

state of the art

n

the level of knowledge and development achieved in a technique, science, etc, esp at present

adj (prenominal)

the most recent and therefore considered the best; up-to-the-minute: a state-of-the-art amplifier.

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

state′ of the art′

n.

the latest and most sophisticated or advanced stage of a technology, art, or science: a camera considered the state of the art in design.

[1960–65]

state′-of-the-art′, adj.

Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

Источник

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