What is a novelty element?

Question

TLG recently released the following update regarding clearing out the current backlog of PaB orders:

Starting week 34 (next week) the Denmark warehouse which processes "Standard" Pick a Brick orders, will be increasing warehouse staff and we should expect that between now and November, the order backlog is reduced and eventually eliminated. This forecast takes into account the upward trends that occur during specific events like new elements becoming available and the holiday season. Forecasts are predictions though...

Also starting week 34 we will start to increase the Pick a Brick assortment including the addition of novelty elements that launched from January through May 2022. These are not expected to launch in their entirety in week 34 but rolled out over a few weeks. We should then see novelty elements launching monthly moving forward.

It has been a long road for novelty elements launching and I recognize the challenge this creates. There is an end in sight though. Thank you for sharing your community members (and your own) concern along the way. Your voice has been, and will continue to be shared, with the relevant internal team in relation to this matter.

What does "novelty element" mean in this context? Does this term have a TLG-specific meaning beyond its general meaning?

Answer 1

This was a new term for me. It was clarified on the LEGO Ambassador Network by a member of the LEGO Community Team:

We have a lot of internal words that are not always known to the public. TLG considers new molds and recolors of existing elements (old element but new color) to be "novelty" for the first year they are produced.