Appeal No. 2001-0099
Application No. 09/042,431
angle therebetween of "less than 90 ." Additionally, theo
Brekke declaration states that dealers specifically liked the
proximity of the lock button to the handle, a feature which is
not recited in claim 21. In light of the differences between
the product sold and the subject matter of claim 21, we cannot
conclude that the sales were a direct result of the unique
characteristics of the claimed invention.
Moreover, evidence of secondary considerations, such as
commercial success, is but a part of the "totality of the
evidence" that is used to reach the ultimate conclusion of
obviousness. See Richardson-Vicks Inc. v. Upjohn Co., 122
F.3d 1476, 1483, 44 USPQ2d 1181, 1187 (Fed. Cir. 1997).
After reviewing all of the evidence before us, including
the totality of the appellants' evidence, it is our conclusion
that, on balance, the evidence of nonobviousness fails to
outweigh the evidence of obviousness discussed above and,
accordingly, the subject matter of claim 21 would have been
obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art within the meaning
of 35 U.S.C. § 103 at the time the appellants' invention was
made. See Id.
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