Ex parte ANDERSON - Page 19




          Appeal No. 96-2623                                                          
          Application No. 08/240,095                                                  


          claims under rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 103 are unpatentable               
          under 35 U.S.C. § 103.                                                      


               We do not believe that the declaration establishes                     
          commercial success of the claimed invention.  In that regard, the           
          declaration provides no data concerning whether the average                 
          annual sales of $400,000 of the product incorporating the                   
          features of claims 1-12 represent a substantial share in this               
          market.  Our reviewing court has noted in the past that evidence            
          related solely to the number of units sold provides a very weak             
          showing of commercial success, if any.  See In re Huang, 100 F.3d           
          135, 137, 40 USPQ2d 1685, 1689 (Fed. Cir. 1996); Cable Elec.                
          Prods., Inc. v. Genmark, Inc., 770 F.2d 1015, 1026-27, 226 USPQ             
          881, 888 (Fed. Cir. 1985) (finding that sales of 5 million units            
          represent a minimal showing of commercial success because                   
          "[w]ithout further economic evidence . . . it would be improper             
          to infer that the reported sales represent a substantial share of           
          any definable market"); see also In re Baxter Travenol Lab., 952            
          F.2d 388, 392, 21 USPQ2d 1281, 1285 (Fed. Cir. 1991)                        
          ("[I]nformation solely on numbers of units sold is insufficient             
          to establish commercial success."); Kansas Jack, Inc. v. Kuhn,              
          719 F.2d 1144, 1151, 219 USPQ 857, 861 (Fed. Cir. 1983)                     

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