Appeal No. 2001-1504
Application 08/618,263
motivation or suggestion to combine them is provided by the
prior art taken as a whole. In re Beattie,
974 F.2d 1309, 1312, 24 USPQ2d 1040, 1042 (Fed. Cir. 1992).
The advantages noted by the examiner and confirmed by Wooster
would have provided the necessary motivation or suggestion to
combine Lance and Emmett in the manner proposed. Moreover,
there is nothing in the record showing that at the time the
invention was made the inventor was even aware of the
operational or functional advantages described by Wooster.
The Wooster declaration also falls short of demonstrating
that the subject matter on appeal solved a long felt need in
the art.
To establish a long felt need, an applicant must
demonstrate the existence of a problem which has been
recognized in the art and has remained unsolved over a long
period of time. See Vandenberg v. Dairy Equipment Co., 740
F.2d 1560, 224 USPQ 195 (Fed. Cir. 1984). The applicant must
further show that the invention satisfies the long felt need.
See In re Cavanagh, 436 F.2d 491, 496, 168 USPQ 466, 471 (CCPA
1971). Along these lines, the Wooster declaration (see
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