Appeal No. 2006-3033
Application No. 10/748,992
the findings are deemed to support the examiner’s conclusion. However, a
suggestion, teaching, or motivation to combine the relevant prior art
teachings does not have to be found explicitly in the prior art, as the
teaching, motivation, or suggestion may be implicit from the prior art as a
whole, rather than expressly stated in the references. The test for an
implicit showing is what the combined teachings, knowledge of one of
ordinary skill in the art, and the nature of the problem to be solved as a
whole would have suggested to those of ordinary skill in the art. In re Kahn,
441 F.3d 977, 987-88, 78 USPQ2d 1329, 1336 (Fed. Cir. 2006) citing In re
Kotzab, 217 F.3d 1365, 1370, 55 USPQ2d 1313, 1316-17 (Fed. Cir. 2000).
See also In re Thrift, 298 F. 3d 1357, 1363, 63 USPQ2d 2002, 2008 (Fed.
Cir. 2002). These showings by the examiner are an essential part of
complying with the burden of presenting a prima facie case of obviousness.
See In re Oetiker, 977 F.2d 1443, 1445, 24 USPQ2d 1443, 1444 (Fed. Cir.
1992). If that burden is met, the burden then shifts to the applicant to
overcome the prima facie case with argument and/or evidence. Obviousness
is then determined on the basis of the evidence as a whole and the relative
persuasiveness of the arguments. See Id.; In re Hedges, 783 F.2d 1038,
1039, 228 USPQ 685, 686 (Fed. Cir. 1986); In re Piasecki, 745 F.2d 1468,
1472, 223 USPQ 785, 788 (Fed. Cir. 1984); and In re Rinehart, 531 F.2d
10
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