3. Relevant date of a prior document 

In determining novelty, a prior document should be read as it would have been read by a person skilled in the art on the relevant date of the document. For the purpose of assessing novelty the "relevant" date for written disclosures is the date as defined by Rule 64.1(b), i.e. either the international filing date of the application under consideration or, if a priority has been validly claimed, the application date of that earlier application (if the filing date of the application is within the two-month period after the expiry of the priority period of the earlier application, the relevant date is also the application date of that earlier application); for non-written disclosures see Rules 33.1(b) and 64.2.