Appeal No. 2005-1204 Page 4
Application No. 10/057,476
("References that are not within the field of the inventor's endeavor may also be relied
on in patentability determinations, and thus are described as 'analogous art', when a
person of ordinary skill would reasonably have consulted those references and applied
their teachings in seeking a solution to the problem that the inventor was attempting to
solve." (citation omitted)). In deciding whether a reference is from a relevant art, we first
must determine whether the reference is within the appellants' field of endeavor, and if it
is not we next must determine whether the reference is reasonably pertinent to the
particular problem confronting the appellants. Wood, 599 F.2d at 1036, 202 USPQ at
174.
The appellants' field of endeavor in this case is fastener tools. Clearly, Foster's
invention drawn to manually operated pump dispensers such as trigger sprayers is not
within the appellants' field of endeavor. Accordingly, we must now determine if Foster is
analogous art that is "reasonably pertinent to the particular problem with which the
inventor was involved." Wood, 599 F.2d at 1036, 202 USPQ at 174. "A reference is
reasonably pertinent if, even though it may be in a different field of endeavor, it is one
which, because of the matter with which it deals, logically would have commended itself
to an inventor's attention in considering his problem." In re Clay, 966 F.2d 656, 659, 23
USPQ2d 1058, 1061 (Fed. Cir. 1992). If a reference disclosure relates to the same
problem as that addressed by the claimed invention, "that fact supports use of that
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007